(UPDATE) Thousands leave Northern Health ERs without being seen, FOI reveals

Updated July 24th, 10:20 a.m.: This article has been updated to include a statement from the Ministry of Health.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Thousands of patients every year have been leaving Northern Health-operated emergency departments without being seen. 

According to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by the Conservative Party of B.C., two per cent of all individuals who went to a Northern Health-operated emergency department between April 2024 and March 2025 left without being seen by a healthcare professional. 

In a statement to Energeticcity.ca at 4:30 p.m. on July 23rd, the Ministry of Health acknowledged the difficulties emergency room wait times cause and said it has worked to increase the number of beds to help with “more efficient patient flow.” 

The report lists the number of emergency department visits categorized according to the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) for all health authorities in the province from 2018 to 2025.

During the 2024/2025 fiscal year, Northern Health recorded 239,442 emergency room visits, of which 4,499 – or approximately 1.87 per cent – left without being seen by a medical professional. 

During the same time period in 2018/2019, 226,904 visits were recorded by Northern Health, and 2,917 – or approximately 1.28 per cent – left without being seen. 

The Ministry of Health told Energeticcity.ca noted the long emergency room wait times experienced across the province and the difficulties it causes. 

“The number of patients that leave the ED without being seen is a small proportion of the total number of visits to the ED,” it stated. 

“In general, patients with lower acuity levels are more likely to leave the ED without seeing a physician.”

The ministry explained it increased the number of provincially-funded acute care beds by 7.9 per cent from 9,202 to 9,929 beds to “help with more efficient patient flow through the hospital and quicker patient discharge.”

“ERs don’t need more spin or empty announcements,” said Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay–Comox, in a release from the B.C. Conservatives when it published the statistics on July 23rd. “They need doctors, they need nurses and they need a government willing to lead before more lives are lost.”

Energeticcity.ca reached out to Northern Health for comment on the numbers, however the health authority declined to comment, directing inquiries to the Ministry of Health. 

Energeticcity.ca reached out to the Ministry of Health, however did not hear back immediately. 

Energeticcity.ca will update this story as more information becomes available. 

To read the complete FOI, see below.