Communities across BC are bracing for high temperatures as a heat wave batters the province, but a pair of towns will be without their emergency departments temporarily.
In a set of announcements sent out Saturday evening, Interior Health stated that the emergency departments in Lillooet and Merritt would close temporarily beginning Sunday morning due to limited physician availability.
And while the closure in Lillooet is slated to last until Monday at 8 am, residents in the Nicola Valley will be without their ER until Tuesday morning.
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The Nicola Valley Hospital’s ER will be closed for 48 hours beginning Sunday and lasting until 8 am on Tuesday, with patients being asked to access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.
Patients in Lillooet are also asked to access emergency services at Royal Inland Hospital and all other inpatient services will remain the same at both hospitals.
The ER in Williams Lake at Cariboo Memorial Hospital was also among the closures this weekend, as residents were without an ER from Saturday evening until Sunday morning due to limited nursing availability.
“Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week,” reads the releases from Interior Health.
Residents are reminded to call 911 for transport to the nearest available facility when needing life-threatening emergency care.
