Merritt Emergency Room Closed for 48 Hours

A doctor shortage has forced the closure of the emergency room in Merritt, B.C., for 48 hours, according to Interior Health.

At Nicola Valley Hospital, emergency care will be “unavailable” until 8 a.m. Tuesday. Patients are being asked to go to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, about an hour away.

“People in the community who require life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 to be transported to the nearest available and appropriate facility,” the health authority’s bulletin states.

Nicola Valley Hospital has seen more than a dozen temporary closures of its emergency room in the past year, most of them attributed to “limited physician availability” or other staffing shortages.

The situation was so dire that Merritt Mayor Michael Goetz said he planned to suspend health care payments to the province because of unreliable services. He encouraged other local leaders to do the same.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/bc-mayor-wants-other-cities-to-consider-withholding-payments-to-province-over-er-closures-1.6596153

Other emergency departments across the wider region were also closed over the weekend. The emergency department at Lillooet Hospital was closed Sunday and will not reopen until 8 a.m. Monday. Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake was closed overnight Saturday and South Okanagan General Hospital was closed overnight Friday.

The weekend closures come as heat warnings are in effect across the province. In southern B.C., where Merritt is located, temperatures are expected to reach the 30s to 40s, according to Environment Canada.

“Local public health officials expect increased heat-related health and safety risks and advise the public to take precautions,” the weather agency’s warning said.