BURST
Delta hospital’s emergency room has been closed on Monday night due to a sudden doctor shortage.
In a news release issued just before 6 p.m., Fraser Health says it is implementing a “temporary service interruption” beginning at 7 p.m. Monday until 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning after an unexpected doctor illness. All patients already in the emergency department will be seen by a doctor before end of shift Monday night.
After 7 p.m., nurses will continue to be on site to support walk-in patients needing basic care. They will also assist with redirecting or transferring patients with urgent needs to nearby hospitals.
The service interruption affects only the emergency department.
All other Fraser Health emergency rooms remain open, though patients with non-urgent care concerns are expected to experience longer-than-usual waiting times.
Delta hospital’s emergency room closed for two consecutive nights in February due a doctor shortage.
Emergency room closures have become commonplace in B.C. in recent years, with the opposition B.C. Conservatives using question period in February to highlight 1,407 closures, of various lengths in days, at 20 hospitals over the past two years of Premier David Eby’s NDP government.