BC Conservative MLA demands NDP take action after Delta ER closes two nights in a row

"How can you accept this abject failure to deliver emergency healthcare in the province of BC?" he asked.
David Eby and Ian Paton
David Eby and Ian Paton
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BC Conservative MLA Ian Paton has called on the BC NDP to take action after the Delta Hospital emergency room was closed two nights in a row due to staffing shortages.

During Question Period on Monday, he went back and forth with Health Minister Josie Osborne, who assured him that the government was doing everything it could to address the problem.

"Accidents happen, people get injured, and when they do they expect their local emergency department to be open," Paton said, "but this past weekend in my community of Delta you could not do that. For two whole nights, the ER was closed and when seconds mattered [they] told my constituents to drive half an hour or more to Surrey Memorial, where wait times are up to 18 hours."

He asked Osborne, "after eight years of NDP governance, how can you accept this abject failure to deliver emergency healthcare in the province of BC?"

"I share his very deep concern for what had to take place this weekend in his constituency, and for the people who live in his riding and the surrounding area," she replied. "Everybody wants to be able to depend on the emergency department knowing that it is there for them when they need emergency care."

Osborne noted that such decisions "are not taken lightly," explaining that Fraser Health and other health authorities facing similar situations "do everything that they can to ensure that there is sufficient staffing in an emergency department because it is so critical."

"When these very difficult decisions are taken they are done in a way to help protect people by ensuring that the BC Emergency Health Services knows what's happening, that the public is alerted at a time so they understand what is happening," she continued. "We have so much work to continue to do, attracting new physicians, credentialing internationally-trained graduates, bringing in new nurses, and we're gonna continue doing this work so that we can end these types of diversions."

Paton responded by noting that, "for eight years in this seat in the legislature, I've heard the same responses over and over again."

"The ER is supposed to be a 24/7 service," he added, "yet under this NDP government, you can't guarantee the ER will be open when you need it."

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Delta ER closes for two consecutive nights due to 'staffing challenges'
David Eby and Ian Paton

The emergency room operated sans doctors from 9:30 p.m. Saturday until 7:00 a.m. the following morning, then again from 9:30 p.m. Sunday until 6:30 a.m. Monday.

In both cases, Fraser Health noted that, "emergency-trained nurses will continue to be on site and available to support walk-in patients needing basic first aid, assist with re-direction of care, and/or transfer patients with urgent needs to a neighbouring hospital."

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