Emergency department at Chetwynd becomes second in region to close Christmas Day

CHETWYND, B.C. — A second emergency department in northeast B.C. will close due to staffing challenges on December 25th.

Northern Health announced the Chetwynd General Hospital will be closed on Christmas Day from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. in a Facebook post.

This is the second emergency department in the region to experience a closure, as the Fort St. John Hospital is closed from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. today.

People with urgent medical issues should call 911 to be transported to the nearest open and available facility.

Northern Health suggests patients contact a primary care provider to make an appointment for those with non-urgent needs.

Those with no family doctor or nurse practitioner can call the authority’s Virtual Clinic at 1-844-645-7811 seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Indigenous people and their family members living in B.C. with limited or no access to their own doctors are urged to make virtual appointments through Northern Health’s First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day program by calling 1-855-344-3800 seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Those who are unsure if their medical situation requires an emergency room visit can book an appointment with a pharmacist on the Book a Pharmacist website by visiting HealthLinkBC’s website or by calling 811.