UPDATE 10 a.m. – Interior Health says the Emergency department at the Nicola Valley Hospital has reopened after a three-hour closure Tuesday, Oct. 10.

In an update just before 10 a.m., Interior Health says it was able to find staff to work in the emergency department today, bringing the sixteenth closure at the ER this year to an early end.

“A PSA was issued this morning at 7:30 a.m. announcing a service interruption because of unexpected limited staffing availability,” IH said. “This PSA has been rescinded.”

While the most recent string of shutdowns in Merritt, have been mostly related to a lack of nurses, it is not clear if this shutdown was due to a lack of doctors or nurses.

The Merritt ER was originally set to be closed until 7 p.m. this evening – the latest in a series of shutdowns which have hit the hospital in recent weeks.