No more planned ER interruptions at Fort St. John Hospital this week, says Northern Health

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Northern Health staff have confirmed that there are no planned emergency department service interruptions at the Fort St. John Hospital for the rest of the week.

In a comment posted to Facebook, a Northern Health staffer named Ashley said there were “no planed or expected emergency department service interruptions at [the hospital] over the coming days, including the coming weekend.”

Energeticcity.ca reached out to Northern Health to verify whether this was true, and Regional Manager of Public Affairs and Media Relations Eryn Collins confirmed it in an email.

The comment went on to say that the health authority is working to fill “remaining shift vacancies later in July and in August.”

When asked if the dates of these vacancies could be provided, Collins said there wasn’t a list of them to share.

“Such a list would be highly subject to change and our ongoing goal is that all will ultimately be filled and service interruptions will not be required,” Collins said. 

“We will notify the community if that turns out to not be the case, so that people are aware of the need to call 911 for transport to the nearest available facility – which is always our recommendation.”

When asked whether there were any planned or expected service interruptions in other northeast B.C. communities like Chetwynd or Fort Nelson, Collins said there is “the potential for service interruptions” in some areas over the coming days.

However, Collins again said she could not confirm when they could occur.

“Again, that’s why we encourage people to be aware of the potential for service interruptions and the importance of calling 911 in the event of a health emergency… and we’ll continue to notify about expected/planned interruptions as they occur.”