Repeated closures of emergency rooms in the interior of British Columbia lead to growing frustration
The closure of emergency rooms at several hospitals in British Columbia due to staff shortages on long weekends is causing growing discontent.
And although many describe the situation as unbearable, the province’s health minister says “everything possible” is being done to remedy the situation.
Adrian Dix said the province has hired hundreds of doctors and nurses qualified to work in emergency rooms, but many parts of British Columbia still experience overcrowding in these facilities.
“We have problems across the system, there are system failures in all specialties, but we feel it most in the emergency department,” said Dr. Aimee Kenrick, president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians.
“We are the only door that should always be open, and we can’t even keep that up – all over the province and across the country, emergency departments are closing and we are failing our patients.”
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During the long Labor Day weekend, five such closures were recorded in the interior of British Columbia.
These included facilities in Oliver, Merritt, Lillooet, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House, forcing people in the South Cariboo to travel hours to receive medical care.
“This is a national problem and we are addressing it with comprehensive short-term and further long-term measures,” said Dix.
Local politicians say more help is needed.
“These are the necessities of life and we cannot close the emergency room. And when I talk to the nurses and doctors there, I’m really worried – they’re burned out, there’s a shortage of staff,” said Surinderpal Rathor, the mayor of Williams Lake.
“I’m sick of the politics around this. This is a crisis situation. We need to figure out what to do next,” added Conservative MP Lorne Doerkson of Cariboo Chilcotin, BC.
“That’s what frustrates me, because this plan doesn’t seem to be working.”
According to experts, decades of chronic underfunding and inadequate planning have now become clearly apparent.
“Continuing to spend money on the same failed solutions will not produce a better outcome,” Kenrick said.
Data compiled by Global News shows Interior Health and Northern Health emergency departments closed 54 times in August.
Eight closures were reported in Oliver, seven in Lillooet and four in 100 Mile House and Merritt.
In the north, emergency departments were closed ten times in the Mackenzie area, five times in Prince Rupert and four times in Chetwynd.
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