Overnight ER closure at B.C. hospital due to staffing challenges

SURREY — A hospital in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is shutting its emergency department during overnight hours for more than a week due to staffing challenges.

Fraser Health says in a release that Mission Memorial Hospital’s emergency department will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Dec. 29 to Jan. 6 to reflect what it says are “systemic pressures being experienced across Canada.”

During that time, the hospital will have emergency-trained nurses to assess walk-in patients and provide basic care, as well as redirect them to a neighbouring hospital if their needs are more urgent.

Mission Memorial Hospital site medical director Dr. Paul Theron says in a statement that the temporary closure is to “enable consistent and plannable hours” while enabling the hospital to “align services with available staffing and maintain patient safety.”

Theron also says the hospital is working with the provincial Ministry of Health “to stabilize longer-term staffing.”

Fraser Health announced earlier this month that four hospitals in the B.C. Interior — three of which have had periodic emergency-department closures due to staffing shortages — are starting a pilot program where emergency-care patients may be seen virtually by an off-site doctor.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 26, 2025.

The Canadian Press