Another B.C. hospital has been forced to implement an unscheduled temporary emergency room closure due to a shortage of staff.
In a bulletin issued Monday afternoon, Interior Health said the ER at the Nicola Valley Hospital in Merritt would be closed overnight from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. Tuesday “due to limited staffing availability.”
Patients were instead directed to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, nearly an hour’s drive away.
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Interior Health said the ER closure did not affect other inpatient services at the hospital.
Anyone having a life-threatening emergency should still call 911, the health authority said.