Two B.C. ERs put on diversion due to doctor, staff shortages

A shortage of doctors and staff meant two ERs in the B.C. Interior had to divert patients over the weekend.

The emergency department at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater began diverting patients on Saturday at 6 p.m. with the Interior Health Authority citing “limited staffing availability.” People instead need to drive about 1.5 hours to the ER at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

The diversion is in place until 7 a.m. Monday.

Meanwhile, the emergency department at the South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver is also on diversion. Interior Health says from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, patients need to drive about a half hour away to Penticton Regional Hospital.

Interior Health says “limited physician availability” is the reason for this diversion.

South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver, B.C. (Courtesy: Interior Health)

Both of these ERs are normally open 24/7.

In the event of an emergency, all residents should call 911. You can also call HealthLink BC at 811, if you are unsure if you need to seek emergency care.

“Interior Health regrets this temporary change to normal operations,” the health authority said in both online statements.

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Last week, a group representing emergency room doctors across Canada called on the nation’s premiers to come up with a plan that prevents hospitals and clinics from dealing with closures due to ongoing staffing shortages.

Canada’s 13 premiers met in Victoria, where health care was one of the top concerns. The provincial and territorial leaders have been calling on the federal government to increase funding.

B.C. Premier John Horgan, who hosted the Council of the Federation meetings, said with health care worker recruitment and retention a challenge across the country, “that notion of poaching is part and parcel of what we’ll be discussing.”

He added more foreign credentials need to be recognized in Canada at a faster pace.

“I think most Canadians … if I was to sit down at the kitchen table and talk about the challenges of having foreign health credentials recognized in British Columbia, or in Alberta, or in Manitoba, people will be horrified.”

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Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows admitted patients across Canada waited 38.3 hours in emergency rooms in 2019-2020, up from 29.3 hours five years earlier. The total number of visits spiked to nearly 1.6 million during that time, up from just over 1.1 million.

The figures apply to 90 per cent of patients, and Dr. Atul Kapur with the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians said 10 per cent waited even longer.

With files from Sonia Aslam, Jawad Siddiqui, Liza Yuzda, Mike Lloyd, and The Canadian Press