BURST
The emergency room at Delta Hospital will be closed overnight Saturday because of physician shortages for the third time this year.
Fraser Health says the temporary service interruption will start at 6 p.m. and the ER will reopen at 6:30 a.m. Sunday.
The health authority says this is to ensure patients already in the emergency department can be seen by a physician before they end their shift at 1:30 a.m.
During the service interruption, emergency-trained nurses will continue to be on site and available to support walk-in patients needing basic care and help patients with urgent needs get a transfer to a neighbouring hospital.
Anyone with a life-threatening emergency, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing or severe bleeding, should call 911 immediately and will be transported to the nearest available and appropriate facility.
This service interruption impacts the ER only and all other services at Delta Hospital are available, Fraser Health said in a news release Saturday.
Anyone with non-urgent health-related questions can call the Fraser Health Virtual Care at 1-800-314-0999 to speak with a registered nurse from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. or call B.C.’s nurse line at 811.
There’s also the Fraser Health Crisis Line at 1-877-820-7444.
B.C. is in the grips of a hospital staffing crisis.
The ER at Delta Hospital shut down twice in February because of staffing shortages, the same weekend as ER closures in Merritt and Clearwater hospitals. Delta Hospital had another overnight closure in August.
The ER at Mission Hospital has also been closed twice this year because of doctor shortages. Last year, emergency rooms were also closed in Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Lillooet, Oliver, Merritt and White Rock.