Fraser Health says that Mission Memorial Hospital’s emergency department will close overnight on Sunday, starting at 5 p.m.
The service will resume at 8 a.m. on Monday.
According to the health authority, the temporary closure is due to physician staffing challenges.
Patients who arrive at the emergency department before 5 p.m. on Sunday will be seen by a physician by the end of their shift at 11 p.m.
Patients who come to the hospital afterwards will be treated by emergency-trained nurses who will continue to be on site.
The nurses can help with basic care, assist with re-direction of care, and/or transfer patients with urgent needs to a neighbouring hospital.
“Anyone with a life-threatening emergency, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing or severe bleeding, should call 9-1-1 immediately and will be transported to the nearest available and appropriate facility,” Fraser Health said in a written statement.
B.C. Emergency Health Services will also be available to transport patients if necessary.
Mission’s hospital is affected by a temporary closure for the second time within two weeks.
Related:
In an interview with 1130 NewsRadio, the medical site director says that this is due to the comparatively smaller size of Mission’s Emergency Department.
“It’s unfortunately a regional, provincial, national, and international problem with a shortage of physicians,” said Dr. James Warkentin.
“Because we’re a smaller site, a place like Mission where we have three physicians on over the course of the 24 hours, if one of those lines doesn’t get filled, then we have to close. Whereas other departments, many are in the Lower Mainland, running without full lines, they don’t close; they just have longer waits.”
Fraser Health stresses that it is working to address physician staffing gaps, with Warkentin saying that Mission Hospital’s shortages have “plateaued,” with the “active hiring campaign being able to close some of these gaps over the coming months.”