Interior Health says the emergency department in Clearwater will be closed for another 13 hours, starting at 6 p.m. today, July 12.
The health authority says this temporary closure at the Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital – like all others – is due to limited staffing availability.
This is the twentieth closure of the Clearwater ER this year, and second this week, after a 49-hour closure from 6 a.m. Sunday, July 10 to 7 a.m. this morning, July 12.
People who need emergency care are being told to call 911, or being told to head to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. They’re also being told to call HealthLink BC at 811 if they’re not sure if they need to seek emergency care.
Speaking on NL Newsday, Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell says recruiting doctors and nurses is tough as there’s no place for them to live.
“You run into a few problems,” he said. “Obviously the housing shortage here in town and then the fact that we bought something, its either got to be right up to spec because we are the people that do building inspections. We can’t buy something that isn’t up to spec.”
“The other thing is quite often we have to evict somebody to put a doctor in because there is just no housing in Clearwater.”
He also says he doesn’t want to call the situation a crisis as it could be a deterrent when it comes to attracting people to come work in Clearwater. He also concedes the shortage of health professionals isn’t unique to his area, with shortages reported across Canada and around the world.
But he says Clearwater could be a great place for semi-retired workers to relocate to.
“I would take part timers,” Blackwell added. “I would be really interested in seeing some nurses that are looking to wind down their career [who] are only wanting to work a couple days a week come here and set up shop. Lab techs too that could come in and do relief work for a couple of days a week.”
Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar says he’s concerned that these regular closures all seem to be in the northern part of Interior Health.
“The solution of telling people to go to Kamloops to an already overrun hospital just makes the problem worse overall, and in the long term we are starting to see that build and build and build. It is not good for patient care,” Milobar said on the NL Morning News.
“The residents of Clearwater and the valley deserve to have a hospital operating at the level of care and standard that it was built and designed and funded for.”
He says if immediate action isn’t taken by the Province and Interior Health, there could be more of these closures seen in the months ahead.
– With files from Bill Cowen and Jeff Andreas
#Clearwater and area residents are advised Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital Emergency Department will be on diversion from 6 p.m. July 12 until 7 a.m. July 13 https://t.co/QSydJodnaU
— Interior Health (@Interior_Health) July 12, 2022
