Northeast B.C. hospitals see significant drop in monthly emergency room diversions

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Hospitals in Northeast B.C. saw a substantial decrease in hospital diversion in September compared to previous months.

In total, Northern Health facilities throughout the region were closed for at least 51.5 hours during the month of September. 

Only two hospitals – Fort St. John Hospital and Chetwynd Hospital – announced temporary diversion in their emergency departments.

Both emergency departments closed twice, with Fort St. John closed for a total of 25 hours and Chetwynd closed for at least 26.5 hours. 

In Fort St. John, both diversions were due to ‘staffing challenges,’ and in Chetwynd, services were diverted once due to ‘physician coverage challenges’ and once due to ‘patient acuity and volumes.’ 

In July, Northern Health announced more than 20 temporary closures, totaling more than 300 hours. In August, those numbers were reduced to eight closures with more than 107 hours of diversion. 

Northern Health executives Lisa Zetes-Zanatta, Vice President of Clinical Operations, and Ronald Chapman, Vice President of Medicine, attended the September 12th Peace River Regional District (PRRD) Board of Directors Regional Meeting to discuss healthcare diversion in the region. 

Zetes-Zanatta assured the directors that Northern Health is working to decrease emergency room closures in the region by working with approximately 400 locum workers who can coordinate coverage for shifts as early as a week in advance. 

The healthcare authority is also seeking a resolution to retention problems and keeping healthcare workers in the region long-term in order to minimize worker shortages.