The emergency room at the Nicola Valley Hospital in Merritt will be closed for 26 hours, starting at 6 a.m. Friday, July 19.

Interior Health says the closure – the sixth this year and fourth this month – is due to a lack of doctors.

The Merritt emergency room is currently scheduled to reopen at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 20, with people being directed to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops during this closure.

This closure comes days after Merritt Mayor Michael Goetz officially sent in a bill for $103,831.87, seeking compensation for 24 previous ER closures at the Nicola Valley Hospital.

Goetz told Radio NL Thursday that he says he hasn’t yet gotten a response from Premier David Eby.

“I’m expecting probably next week we’ll get some sort of information and if not, well then I’ll just jog his memory again and just let him know that if he’s had a read of it, if he could just give us a yes or a no or a timeline,” Goetz said. “If you’re going to deny this, fine, but I want an explanation as to why you’re going to deny it as we come into an election.”

“If we fall short [in Merritt] where we shut the facility down for a coupe of days because of a problem, you are reimbursed into the next month or your money is returned. It’s just the normal thing to do. That is all I’m looking for here.”

In addition to the money, Goetz also told Radio NL he wants assurances from the Provincial Government that the issues plaguing emergency rooms in places like Merritt will be fixed.

“I can get behind any plan here whether its a six months or a year, and if there are high water marks to meet, at least we all work towards a plan, that’s fine,” Goetz said.

As has been the case during past emergency room closures, Interior Health says people in Merritt who need life-saving emergency care should call 9-1-1.

People who aren’t sure if they need to head to the emergency room are being told to contact HealthLink BC.