The emergency room at Nicola Valley Hospital in Merritt, BC is the latest to temporarily shutter due to ongoing staffing shortages plaguing the province..The department closed Sunday at 8 a.m. for 24 hours and those in need of emergency services were redirected to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops or Kelowna General Hospital, both of which have also suffered recent staffing issues..Oliver, BC's South Okanagan General Hospital’s emergency room shut its doors for about 24 hours on the weekend as well..As for Nicola Valley, Interior Health said the closure was due to “unexpected limited physician availability,” further adding that those in the community in need of emergency care “should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.”.However paramedics have also been hit by staffing shortages, therefore a fear of unavailable emergency transport among the province's vulnerable has become increasingly widespread..READ MORE: Ashcroft man dies while waiting for ambulance to become available.In a Saturday statement ,the Ambulance Paramedics of BC said many ambulances were unstaffed in the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver area, with zero staffed in Maple Ridge Saturday..“On Friday night we had many advanced life support ambulances sitting empty all night, and today we continue to see deployable non-staffed ambulances in the Fraser Valley as well,” said union president Troy Clifford..“We are urging the public to be aware that there could be significant delays in service, and use 911 when someone’s health or safety is at risk, use 811 when unsure.”.Clifford warns there is “no end in sight.”
