The ER at a hospital in Williams Lake is set to close overnight Tuesday, just hours after firefighters gained control of a wildfire that caused a state of emergency when it erupted Sunday evening.
On Tuesday afternoon, Interior Health reported that the emergency department at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake will be closed from 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23 to 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24.
Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor says it’s not the first time the ER has had to close due to a staffing shortage, but he’s grateful that it didn’t happen over the last two days.
“Thank God it didn’t happen the day before, or the day before that when the big fire was there,” said Rathor.
The BC Wildfire Service said Tuesday morning that the wildfire that threatened industrial areas of the Cariboo City of Williams Lake was newly ‘being held.’
The Valley Creek Wildfire was sparked on Sunday around 6:30 p.m. after a tree fell on a power line.
Just minutes later, the fire had raced up the east side of the valley, and made its way to an industrial area of town, partly damaging one auto-wrecker. Massive plumes of thick, black smoke could be seen rising into the air, as blocks of residents and businesses were placed on evacuation alert.
Some homes were also tactically evacuated to allow firefighters to respond to the menacing blaze.
Had the Cariboo Memorial ER been forced to close during the worst of the fire, Rathor says, “it could have been a disaster.”
He says the staffing is inconsistent, and the town has seen closures on and off several times throughout the past months.
Rathor says he’s open to anything the B.C. government could do to help prevent healthcare staffing shortages.
“I’m not blaming anybody. All I want to know is: what can we do? How can we help them? I would love to help them however we can. As long as I know how can we fix it, we will do everything. If somebody comes and tells me tomorrow, ‘Hey, this is what we can do.’ I would love to do that.”
Last week, two other ERs in Interior B.C. were forced to close due to staffing issues, and earlier this month, even more closed for periods amid a heatwave.
The BC Nurses’ Union said the problem is preventable, and that residents and nurses deserve better.
The union said staff retention has always been an issue but added that it has been getting worse. The BCNU once again sounded the alarm, calling for the province and health authorities to take a critical look into fixing the problems leading to closures in various communities.
The province has said the issue worsens in the summer when people call in sick or go on vacation. It said it’s working on retaining and recruiting doctors and nurses, adding ambulances, appointing casual staff to vacant and full-time positions, and providing virtual physician support at some hospitals.
Rathor says Cariboo Memorial serves as a regional hospital and is the only option for a huge surrounding area in the northern Interior.
He says the shortages put the community at risk.
“We are in the middle of the summer. You know, anything could happen anytime,” said Rathor. “Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my citizens. … I wish, I could find out the reason [for the closures] and address it.”
—With files from Charlie Carey and Hana Mae Nassar.