Emergency room closures at rural hospitals throughout British Columbia are happening far too frequently.
In 亚洲天堂 Lake, the emergency room at the Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre had at least eight closures in June, following a pattern that has been happening for years.
The Prince Rupert Regional Hospital had two in the first two weeks of July, an ongoing issue this year despite the establishment of a Northern Health task force.
Similar stories have been playing out throughout the Northwest and in rural areas of the province everywhere.
The South Okanagan General Hospital鈥檚 emergency room has had numerous overnight closures in July.
The Lillooet Hospital and Health Centre has had multiple temporary closures. The Chetwynd General Hospital, South Similkameen Health Centre in Keremeos, the Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater, the Nicola Valley Hospital in Merritt, and others have also had repeated closures.
In these communities, especially those far from major centres, a hospital closure is a serious matter. When emergency care is needed, every moment counts.
Transporting someone from Prince Rupert to Terrace 鈥� the next emergency facility 鈥� involves a trip of at very best 90 minutes. This delays the time for a patient to receive necessary care.
From 亚洲天堂 Lake to St. John Hospital in Vanderhoof, the trip is similarly an hour and a half in ideal conditions. In northern communities, if road conditions are poor because of rough winter weather, the time delay becomes even longer or impossible if the road is impassable, which happens from time to time in avalanche country.
There are efforts to examine the causes of the problem of hospital closures and there are efforts to recruit medical staff to rural and isolated communities. Such efforts are urgent.
However, identifying causes is not enough. Without implementing strategies for change, temporary emergency closures will continue to happen.
These closures must not be treated as annoyances. They are much more serious.
When medical emergencies happen, those affected need treatment as soon as possible.
