Northern Health approaches 400 hours of ER closures in 2025 after three in July

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Emergency departments operated by Northern Health closed three times in the City of Dawson Creek and the District of Tumbler Ridge throughout July. 

The Dawson Creek and District Hospital emergency department closed around 12:45 p.m. on July 16th until 10 p.m. that evening due to “staffing challenges.”

The week before, Northern Health also announced and then cancelled a closure in Dawson Creek, after “staffing challenges” at the facility were resolved. 

The District of Tumbler Ridge saw its emergency room close twice throughout the month, first for 12 hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 25th due to “limited resources” and then again for the entirety of July 31st with no reason being specified. 

The July 25th closure was not announced by Northern Health, with a resident photographing the closure notice and posting it to the People of Tumbler Ridge Facebook group. 

When asked why the closure was not announced by the health authority, Arthur Williams, communications advisor with Northern Health, told Energeticcity.ca the emergency department is “essentially just a triage centre” for which closure notices are not “normally” posted. 

However, a closure notice was posted for the July 31st Tumbler Ridge closure the day before at 6 p.m. 

In June, the only emergency closures announced by Northern Health were at the Chetwynd General Hospital, which closed three times for a total of 84.5 hours. 

Since January 2025, Northern Health has announced 22 emergency room closures across northeast B.C. totalling more than 387 hours.