Dawson Creek hospital ER to close for 10 hours

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — The Dawson Creek and District Hospital emergency department will be closed for 10 hours, according to a post from the region’s health authority.

Northern Health posted to Facebook at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 2nd, explaining the hospital’s emergency department would be unavailable from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on October 3rd, due to “staffing challenges.”

This is the first emergency closure at the hospital since mid-September, when the department closed for the very same reason.

In total, there were six closures throughout last month in the Northern Health region for a combined 81 hours.

People in the Dawson Creek area who need life-threatening emergency care are asked to contact 911 for transport to the nearest “available and appropriate facility,” according to the post.

Patients are urged to contact their primary care provider to make an appointment for non-urgent needs. 

Those without a family doctor or nurse practitioner can call Northern Health’s Virtual Clinic at 1-844-645-7811 from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily.

Indigenous people and their family members living in the province with limited or no access to their own doctors can call the First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day at 1-855-344-3800 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. seven days a week.

Residents of northern B.C. can also book an appointment with a pharmacist for 21 minor ailments and prescription contraceptives through the Book a Pharmacist website.

Those unsure of whether or not a condition would warrant a visit to the emergency room can make an appointment with HealthLink BC at 811, or by accessing HealthLink BC’s website.