Northern Health announces another Chetwynd Hospital diversion

CHETWYND, B.C. — Emergency Department services will be interrupted again Tuesday night at Chetwynd Hospital.

Northern Health announced Tuesday afternoon that the department will be unavailable from 5:00 p.m. June 4th until 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5th.

According to the announcement, the closure is happening due to “challenges with nursing and physician coverage.”

There have been more than a dozen diversions at the Chetwynd Hospital since mid-April, including two last week, a stretch of four consecutive weekends, and another period where the department was diverted for five evenings in a row.

Chetwynd’s Mayor addressed the diversions in an interview on the May 31st episode of This Week in the Peace, saying they’re a major concern for council.

In an interview in early May, Peace River South MLA Mike Bernier called the diversions “horrifying.”

While the diversion is active, Northern Health says people in the Chetwynd area who need life-threatening emergency care should call 9-1-1 to the nearest available and appropriate facility. 

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.