Northern Health reports at least 82 hours of northeast ER closures in February

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Northern Health has reaffirmed its intentions to only post on social media about emergency service interruptions for hospitals after at least 82 hours of closures in one month. 

Throughout February, Northern Health reported at least 82 hours of closures in northeast B.C., all attributed to “staffing challenges.” 

The Fort St. John Hospital emergency department closed for 10 hours from 9 p.m. on February 6th to 7 a.m. on February 7th. 

On February 7th, the emergency department at the Fort Nelson General Hospital closed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on February 27th, the Chetwynd General Hospital’s emergency department closed overnight for 12 hours on February 7th.

On February 3rd, emergency services at the Tumbler Ridge Health Centre closed from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and the Hudson’s Hope Health Centre closed for 56 hours from February 24th to March 2nd. Neither closure was posted by Northern Health to the relevant social media pages, only on the health authority’s emergency department status webpage.

In a statement to Energeticcity.ca on March 3rd, Northern Health stated: “In general, Northern Health only posts on social media regarding emergency department service interruptions at hospitals with 24-hour emergency departments.”

The health authority advises residents to monitor its webpage for up-to-date information about emergency service interruptions and, during a diversion, call 911 in an emergency to get transportation to the nearest available medical facility. 

“Emergency services at small health centres are often dependent on one or two staff, and are subject to more frequent – often unscheduled – interruptions than hospitals,” Northern Health stated. 

“As a result, it was not possible to consistently and accurately inform communities via social media about service interruptions.”

In January, Northern Health reported two closures, both at the Chetwynd General Hospital emergency department, for a total of nine hours.