BC Interior posted Feb 14, 2025 @ 01:30pm by Iain Burns

BC Interior hospital's emergency department shuts down for 18 hours

The emergency department in Williams Lake has been closed this afternoon.

Cariboo Memorial Hospital will be unable to provide urgent care from today at noon till 6 am on Saturday.

Interior Health said patients should head to 100 Mile House, Quesnel or Bella Coola for help instead.

All other inpatient services in Williams Lake will remain unaffected.

“People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility,” Interior Health’s public bulletin about the closure reads.

“Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 or visit HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.”

The hospital in Williams Lake was one of the worst-affected facilities when it came to closures last year.

It failed to provide service on 18 occasions.

Former health minister Adrian Dix told councillors in the city last year the closures were down to a national struggle to recruit health workers. But he said BC was still “doing better than everyone else” and indeed “crushing Alberta” when it came to attracting staff.

His replacement, Josie Osborne, told NowMedia late last year that the BC government is “fully committed to the task” of solving the crisis.

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