Home »
Doc shortage impacting health centre hours again
Regional officials working on recruitment
Interior Health has posted another announcement pointing out “temporary changes to emergency department hours at the Sparwood Health Care Centre.”
Residents are advised of the following changes to the normal hours at the health centre in Sparwood due to limited physician availability:
Sparwood Emergency Department will be closed:
Friday, April 26 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.;
Saturday, April 27; Sunday, April 28;
Tuesday, April 30 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Except for these dates, Sparwood Health Centre will be open during normal hours.
(Seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
Sparwood and Elkford residents should take note of the following if they require care when the Sparwood emergency department is closed:
In the event of an emergency, call 9-1-1.
Or residents may wish to use the emergency department in Fernie (24/7).
If individuals are unsure about what services they require, call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1. The toll-free line provides 24-hour, confidential health information and advice from a registered nurse.
Interior Health regrets these temporary changes to normal service.
The matter of doctor shortages in the Elk Valley continues to capture the attention of Elk Valley municipal and Regional District of East Kootenay and Kootenay East Regional Hospital District (KERHD) officials.
“We’re perpetually plagued with physician recruitment,” stated District of Sparwood Mayor and KERHD director Lois Halko during an April 5 board meeting where directors addressed the ongoing trials and tribulations of securing doctors for the Elk Valley.
District of Elkford Mayor and KERHD vice-chair Dean McKerracher said doctor shortages in Elkford and Sparwood have larger reaching impacts. “When Elkford doesn’t have doctors and Sparwood doesn’t have doctors, Fernie has to take on the load,” he noted.
KERHD board chair John Kettle said he is optimistic that concerns about the lack of doctors in the eastern edge of the East Kootenay are being heard.
“There is new momentum in Interior Health to find doctors,” he said. “There will be help coming. This will not fall on deaf ears.”
Ian Cobb/e-KNOW
