Despite no formal plan yet, B.C.’s Health Minister says he is committed to still visiting the Ashcroft Hospital sometime this summer.
Adrian Dix says he plans to stop in both Ashcroft and Kamloops to hear concerns from staff at hospitals in both communities.
“As you know, this summer, I was in Williams Lake most recently, making the hospital announcement there. The Ashcroft situation is one that’s parellel to some other communities; I think of communities like Oliver where there are challenges on the staffing side,” Dix says.
“I’m committed to going to Ashcroft, and in addition to that, I expect to be meeting with the Ashcroft council at the UBCM, where I think I have about 85 meeting requests, but they’ll be one of the 40 or so that I actually end up having time to meet with.”
The hospital in Ashcroft has long been dealing with staffing shortages in its emergency room, and is only open from Friday evenings to Monday mornings.