Northeast B.C. ERs close 150+ hours in April

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Northern Health has recorded 192 hours in emergency department closures in northeast B.C. in April. 

Most of these closures were due to “staff challenges,” according to Northern Health. 

These closures affected emergency departments at the Fort Nelson General Hospital, the Chetwynd General Hospital, the Fort St. John Hospital – which is open 24/7 – and the Hudson’s Hope Health Center, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Chetwynd General Hospital’s emergency department was closed for 25 hours from 7 a.m. on April 7th to 8 a.m. on April 8th. 

The birthing center at the Fort St. John Hospital was closed twice in April, from 8 a.m. on April 2nd to 8 a.m. on April 3rd, and from 8 a.m. on April 15th to 8 a.m. on April 16th, for 24 hours each time. 

Fort Nelson General Hospital’s ER was closed for 12 hours on April 19th due to staffing challenges. 

In April, Hudson’s Hope Health Center’s emergency department was closed for 107 hours, spread across four closures from April 1st to April 2nd, April 10th to 24th, April 28th, and April 30th. 

Northern Health, in a written statement to Energeticcity.ca, previously said: “[The] Hudson’s Hope Health Centre is currently served by one physician working part-time (0.65 full-time equivalent position), and Northern Health is continuing to actively recruit for a second family physician for the community who would bring the full-time equivalent physician coverage to 1.3.” 

There were no closures at the Dawson Creek and District Hospital and the Tumbler Ridge Health Centre in April. 

April saw 77 more closure hours in northeast B.C. than in March, when closure hours totalled 115. There were eight closures in April compared to 12 reported in March.

Energeticcity.ca began tracking service interruptions at the Hudson’s Hope Health Centre in February, when Northern Health released its Emergency Department Status website.