Fort St. John Hospital emergency to shutdown Christmas afternoon

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Staffing challenges will shutter Fort St. John Hospital during the afternoon of Christmas Day.

The regional health authority, Northern Health, announced the news in a Facebook post at 1 p.m. on Thursday, December 25th.

The emergency department will closed from 2 p.m. and is rescheduled to open six hours later, at 8 p.m. 

It was announced earlier this month that the facility is one of seven hospitals province-wide to work at over 120 per cent capacity in 2024.

Residents in Fort St. John and the area in need of life-threatening emergency care, such as if they are suffering with chest pains, difficulty breathing or severe bleeding, should call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility, according to the post.

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.

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