The province’s ongoing medical staffing shortage in hospitals in the North Island has been blamed for the temporary closure of the Port Hardy Hospital emergency department Friday to Sunday.
Island Health is advising that the emergency department will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Sunday, due to limited staff availability.
All other inpatient services will continue at the hospital.
In a statement, Island Health acknowledged “this is not an ideal situation” and apologized for any inconvenience.
Service interruptions have been ongoing for several months.
This is the second closing of the emergency department at Port Hardy Hospital this month; it closed for 12 hours overnight between Aug. 6 and 7.
The Port McNeill Hospital’s ER was closed overnight from 7 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday in the same weekend. Residents in Alert Bay recently endured a two-week overnight closure of the emergency room at the Cormorant Island Community Health Centre. That closure ended on Tuesday.
On the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Ucluelet outpatient medical lab temporarily closed this month, forcing patients to travel to Tofino to obtain outpatient services.
Island Health is advising anyone experiencing a medical emergency to call 911 or, if possible, proceed to Port McNeill Hospital instead. B.C. Emergency Health Services have protocols to ensure patients are transported to the appropriate site.
People unsure if they are experiencing a medical situation requiring a visit to an emergency department can get advice from a registered nurse by calling HealthLink at 811.
