Mission hospital shuttering emergency room for second consecutive night

Editor’s note: The story has been updated to clarify that the ER will close overnight Sunday, but remains open during the day Sunday. A previous version of the story stated the closure extended from Saturday evening until Monday morning.

Mission Memorial Hospital’s emergency room will be closed overnight Sunday due to a shortage of staff.

Fraser Health announced Sunday afternoon the ER will close from 6:30 p.m. Sunday until 8 a.m. Monday.

This follows a similar closure Saturday night.

“After 6:30 p.m., emergency-trained nurses will continue to be on site and available to support walk-in patients needing basic care, assist with re-direction of care, and/or transfer patients with urgent needs to a neighbouring hospital,” the health authority said.

“People in the community seeking care for urgent, non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries may visit the Mission Urgent and Primary Care Centre, Ridge Meadows Urgent and Primary Care Centre, or Abbotsford Urgent and Primary Care Centre during their regular hours of operation.”

Other departments in the hospital are unaffected.

This weekend’s closures are not Mission Memorial’s first overnight ER closures this year; Fraser Health announced a similar closure Feb. 15.

Many other emergency departments have had staffing issues in recent months. Merritt, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, and Lillooet, among other communities, have seen temporary ER closures overnight or over entire weekends due to a shortage of medical personnel.