Chetwynd General Hospital emergency department closes for 25 hours over weekend

CHETWYND, B.C. — The emergency department at Chetwynd’s hospital was shut for over a full day this weekend in the second closure at the facility this month. 

Residents were alerted via Facebook at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 11th that the emergency department at Chetwynd General Hospital was to be diverted from 7:00 am on Saturday, April 12th until 8:00 am on Sunday, April 13th. 

Northern Health cited “staffing challenges” as the reason behind the 25-hour closure. 

The social media post said: “We appreciate your continued understanding, and your support for our dedicated healthcare providers and staff.”

At the time of the announcement, the emergency department had only reopened from another closure just 11 hours before. 

It had been shut from 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 10th until 8:00 a.m. on Friday, April 11th.

People in the Chetwynd area who needed life-threatening emergency care had to call 911 for transport to the nearest facility. 

For non-urgent care needs, patients were asked to call the NH Virtual Primary and Community Care Clinic. 

There was also one emergency department diversion in Chetwynd in late March and two in February.

This comes after Energeticcity.ca revealed Northern Health reported more than 800 hours of hospital closures throughout northeast B.C. between July 2024 and January 2025.