Northern Rockies addresses healthcare challenges 

FORT NELSON, B.C. — The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) discussed the challenges faced at Fort Nelson Hospital with the BC Emergency Health Service (BCEHS) during February 26th’s committee of the whole meeting.

According to representatives of BCEHS, Fort Nelson is in a unique situation because if the hospital has service interruptions and cannot bring in new patients, there is no other healthcare facility for hundreds of kilometres. 

Over the years, Fort Nelson Hospital has often experienced service interruptions and staff shortages, requiring patients to be diverted to other facilities due to staff shortages, power outages and supply chain issues. 

Fort Nelson experienced its most recent interruption in January. 

Speakers on behalf of BCEHS elaborated on strategies to mitigate the burden of Fort Nelson’s health services, such as hiring well-trained staff and utilizing air transportation.  

Jonathan Brnjas, manager of clinical operations for BCEHS, said one mitigation factor was aggressively bringing in as many paramedics to the region as possible with advanced training while experiencing delays. 

“We have specialists who are specially trained advanced care paramedics that work across the province for clinical assessments,” said Brnjas.

According to Brnjas, the specialists ensure that patients are appropriately assessed and receive the required medical attention. 

Chief Operations Officer for BCEHS, Jennie Helmer, spoke on the issues facing the healthcare system, noting the difficulty finding doctors and nurses not only in Fort Nelson but also around the province. 

“The health care system is under tremendous staffing problems, and so how we respond to it has become our challenge,” said Helmer.

“I think we’ve risen to [that challenge] in different ways, bringing in paramedics where we have capacity and sharing it throughout the region.” 

Fort Nelson often has to fly patients to other healthcare facilities when experiencing service interruptions.

Les Cleverly, director of clinical air operations at BCEHS, spoke on how they have utilized Viller Air to move patients to other hospitals when local emergency crews cannot provide adequate care due to clinical limitations.

According to Cleverly, BCEHS has utilized six aircraft from Viller Air. The fleet has made 71 flights into Fort Nelson since September 2023 to help transport patients to health facilities, often in Alberta or The Yukon. 

Council raised questions on how sustainable BCEHS’s implemented policies are and what happens if a patient arrives at the hospital during a service interruption. 

The BCEHS representatives say that during service interruptions, patients are often left waiting in ambulances for hospital service to become available or for aircraft to transport patients to other hospitals. 

Council and BCEHS shared a commitment to finding solutions and supporting Fort Nelson’s healthcare needs. 

BCEHS hopes to discuss solutions with Northern Health at upcoming board meetings. 

The NRRM’s February 26th committee of the whole meeting can be viewed below: