Chetwynd Hospital emergency department diverted again Wednesday

CHETWYND, B.C. — The Chetwynd Hospital has now had two emergency department diversions this week.

The department was diverted on Monday due to “physician coverage challenges.” That diversion was supposed to end at 8:00 p.m. that day but ended up being extended until 8:00 a.m. Tuesday instead.

Then, on Wednesday, it was announced that the emergency department would be diverted again from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. Thursday.

Just like Monday’s diversion, the closure on Wednesday was due to “physician coverage challenges.”

Yesterday marks the tenth emergency department diversion at the Chetwynd Hospital since mid-April, including four consecutive weekends of diversions and one series of closures that saw it diverted for five evenings in a row.

Every single one of these diversions has been caused by a lack of doctors or nurses available to work.

During hospital diversions, the health authority said people in the Chetwynd area who needed life-threatening emergency care should call 9-1-1 to the nearest available and appropriate facility. 

Patients requiring urgent care were transported to the hospital in Dawson Creek, over an hour from Chetwynd.

In an interview on May 7th, Peace River South MLA Mike Bernier called the diversions “horrifying.”

The South Peace Division of Family Care, a group of healthcare workers from Dawson Creek, Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge, says it’s working to recruit and hire more doctors and nurses for the area.

The organization is also planning to turn Dawson Creek’s Eljen Healthcare Clinic into a “primary care hub” for the entire South Peace region, and it’s working alongside Northern Health to make it happen.