Merritt ER closed Sunday due to limited staff availability

Another B.C. hospital is closing its emergency department (ED) due to a lack of staff.

Interior Health announced the Nicola Valley Hospital ED in Merritt closed Sunday at 8 a.m. and won’t reopen until 8 a.m. Monday.

They say it was due to “unexpected limited physician availability.”

In a statement by Interior Health they say people who need an ED can go to either Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops or Kelowna General Hospital.

Royal Island Hospital is around 85 kilometres from Merritt while the Kelowna General Hospital is about 130 kilometres away.

They add that all other inpatient services will continue as normal.

Related links:

• B.C. paramedics sound alarm on ‘deplorable’ staffing issues, delays this weekend

• UBC Hospital ER temporarily cuts back hours due to staffing crunch

• How do we solve the critical shortage of nurses and family doctors in B.C.?

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

Starting Tuesday, the 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.

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.

With files from Denise Wong