UBC Hospital ER temporarily cuts back hours due to staffing crunch

UBC Hospital is temporarily cutting back its emergency department’s hours, with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) saying staff are overworked.

Starting Tuesday, the emergency department (ED) will close at 8 p.m., instead of the usual 10 p.m. Although VCH says the change is temporary, it has not said how long it will be in effect.

“Increasing patient arrival volumes, especially at the end of the day, has meant that staff and medical staff at UBC Hospital ED are routinely working well beyond their scheduled shifts into the early hours of the morning to deliver care to those who arrive at the hospital in the late evening,” said Dr. Ladan Sadrehashemi, a senior medical director with VCH.

“The uncertainty of not knowing the last shift end time is creating burnout and loss of medical and other staff within the ED healthcare team and is not sustainable.”

UBC Hospital on Tuesday August 16th, 2022. (CityNews Image)

Related articles:

• ‘Situation is dire’: B.C. nurse staffing shortages reaching crisis level, union says

• ER closures in B.C. a growing public health risk, advocates say

Anyone requiring urgent care after 8 p.m. will have to go to Vancouver General Hospital or St. Paul’s Hospital. Kids can be taken to BC Children’s Hospital.

“Work is underway to identify interim and long-term options for managing patient volumes at UBC Hospital,” reads a statement from VCH.

People with non-urgent medical concerns are urged to try an Urgent and Primary Care Centre, a family doctor, or walk-in clinic. You can also call 8-1-1 to talk to a health-care professional.

Hospitals across the province have been dealing with strained staffing. Other ERs in the Interior and on Vancouver Island have had to either reduce hours or divert patients, many citing “limited physician availability.”

You can check emergency department wait times for Vancouver, Richmond, and the North Shore online.

Read more:

• Talks drag on between B.C. government, doctors amid family physician shortage

• ‘We need action’: B.C. doctor says province can improve health care even without more funding

• Feds, provinces need to ‘sit down like adults’ on health spending: B.C. premier

Earlier this month, the BC Rural Health Network said it’s overwhelmed with public complaints, and reports of serious health impacts as a result of the reduction in services.

Paul Adams from the network says the centralization of health care service management is part of the problem.

“We do need long-term solutions, but we need to come to the table, and we need to start these discussions and start thinking out of the box and not keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result,” he explained.

Dr. Navdeep Grewal, an ER doctor in B.C., told CityNews last month that the longer rolling closures go on, the longer patients will wait to be treated.

“It takes longer for patients to get the necessary tests that they need, and so their stay within the department is longer. Then, if they need to be admitted, it takes longer for patients to be discharged from their beds once they’re feeling better,” she explained.

With files from Sonia Aslam, Jawad Siddiqui, Charlie Carey, and Kurtis Doering