Merritt, B.C. mayor has strong words for province over rural ER closures

This weekend, 4 hospitals wrong Interior Health were forced to adjacent their emergency rooms owed to staffing shortages.

“June 29, Clearwater closed; June 22, Kaslo closed; July 3, Oliver closed,” Merritt Mayor Michael Goetz said.

The emergency room astatine nan Nicola Valley Hospital successful Merritt, B.C., was closed for 48 hours, only reopening connected Tuesday morning.

“There could beryllium immoderate benignant of business wherever we mightiness person power changeable aliases thing and our infirmary isn’t capable to thief pinch that astatine this constituent successful time,” Goetz said.

He said he is sick of each nan closures and moreover vowed to nonstop nan state an $84,000 measure for 19 days of ER interruptions, putting strain connected nan occurrence section past year.

“We paid afloat value for 365 days of coverage,” Goetz added. “And past erstwhile we don’t get it I would expect a in installments nan pursuing year.”

In Williams Lake, nan emergency room astatine Cariboo Memorial was closed for nan 4th nighttime successful a statement connected Sunday.

The Mayor of Williams Lake, Surinderpal Rathor, told Global News that nan ER serves nan full region.

“We are talking 40-50,000 people,” he said. “If somebody’s sewage a bosom attack, you mean somebody’s telling maine we tin fto them dice here.”

On Tuesday, B.C. Premier David Eby said nan state struggles to support staffing for immoderate of those cardinal health-care positions, particularly successful agrarian areas.

“It’s not unsocial to us,” he said.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said nan state ne'er wants to put immoderate infirmary connected diversion.

“It is existent and successful a number of cases complete nan past play we had what we telephone comparatively precocious sick calls and so, specified province-wide systems can’t respond successful distant communities erstwhile there’s a precocious sick call,” he said.

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Dix added that group should telephone successful sick erstwhile they are sick and nan state is doing “everything they can” to debar infirmary diversions.

However, Goetz said they shouldn’t judge this system.

“So I don’t spot a batch of that going connected crossed nan state and to judge nan truth that this is simply a normal business isn’t going to get this problem fixed,” he said.

Meanwhile, nan Bass Coast Festival will beryllium taking nan shape successful Merritt this weekend, bringing thousands of group to nan city.

The politician said he has learned that nan ER will apt beryllium closed connected Saturday.

“I don’t attraction if they’ve sewage to spell to Pluto to get a expert but get a expert successful present to get america done this weekend,” Goetz said.