Hudson’s Hope Health Centre’s ER closes for a week

HUDSON’S HOPE, B.C. — The emergency department at the Hudson’s Hope Health Centre will be closed for a week. 

According to Northern Health’s Emergency Department Status page, the emergency department has closed today, May 8th, and will reopen on May 19th at 8:30 a.m. 

The department was previously closed on April 30th until 1 p.m. and may be “directly or indirectly” linked to the district’s recent water system challenges. 

“The service interruption to emergency department services at Hudson’s Hope Health Centre is the result of staffing challenges, which in Hudson’s Hope can occur when physician coverage or staffing for services that are also essential to providing emergency care (such as nursing or diagnostics) are not available,” Northern Health said in a written statement. 

It added that although emergency services may be interrupted on a given day, other services, such as diagnostics, community primary care and some non-emergency urgent care or same-day access, can and do still occur.

This depends on the level of medical or other types of staffing needed, Northern Health said. 

During normal working hours, the centre is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday.  

The health authority urged residents who need emergency care outside normal working hours to call 911 to connect with BC Emergency Health Services for transportation to the nearest available hospital.