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No change in emergency departments service interruptions

The current shortage in medical care is unacceptable; John Rustad
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Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre鈥檚 emergency department鈥檚 frequent closures are becoming inefficient medical service for critical patients at 亚洲天堂 Lake. (Saddman Zaman photo/Lakes District 亚洲天堂)

The Village of 亚洲天堂 Lake on Nov. 28, addressed the Lakes District Hospital and Health Care emergency department鈥檚 closure for an indefinite period.

At the council meeting, Robert Krause, director of the protective services of the Village of 亚洲天堂 Lake, indicated that the Lakes District Hospital and Health Care closed at 4 p.m. on Nov. 28 until Nov. 29, 8 a.m.

There had been four closures within November, and the last time the hospital had a closed, Krause and his team were attending three medical calls and had to wait for over an hour to get an ambulance from Houston.

The service interruptions at the Lakes District Hospital and Health Care鈥檚 emergency department have been an ongoing problem since October.

Only six physicians are working at the hospital, and it hasn鈥檛 been enough for the full coverage.

Eryn Collins from Northern Health Communications said they still do not have a solution for the staffing challenges at the hospital.

Collins said residents could seek Northern Health Virtual Primary and Community Care Clinic service from their homes over the phone or through a video call.

She said there is still Virtual Emergency Department physician coverage for the Lakes District hospital.

She added residents should still call 911 for life-threatening emergencies so they can be transported to the nearest available and appropriate facility.

鈥淲e continue to work to arrange virtual coverage whenever available,鈥 Collins said.

But, Krause is calling out Northern Health鈥檚 inconsistency. He stated that he received a medical call on Nov. 28 from a cardiac arrest patient who was having chest pains in the parking lot of the hospital, just 10 feet from help, but the door was locked.

Despite Northern Health鈥檚 Facebook page updates regarding what happens at 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥檚 hospital, their website is inconsistent, and Krause has concerns about its reliability.

He informs council that neither him nor B.C. Ambulance got an email notification for the incident on Nov. 28.

Hearing all these, Councillor Darrell Hill said he would like to make a motion to write a letter to Northern Health advising them to announce their emergency department closure for public knowledge, so that people with cardiac arrest might know that the hospital might not be efficient enough to help them.

The council agreed that it was the best thing to do.

Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad who is also the leader of the B.C. Conservative Party said the current staff shortage in medical health care is unacceptable.

Rustad said jobs need to be offered back to the nurses, doctors and other health care professionals who have lost their employment by lifting off vaccine mandates.

In this way, Rustad pointed that many physician shortages could be resolved, and for a small community like 亚洲天堂 Lake, even one or two nurses can make a huge difference.

Rustad added that a shortage of medical staff can be felt not only in 亚洲天堂 Lake but throughout the province.

鈥淲e鈥檙e building a new hospital in Fort St. James, and they don鈥檛 have enough staffing.鈥

According to Rustad, an estimated 7000 nurses have either been fired or left the system by retiring early during the pandemic.

He feels nurses are currently overworking due to the shortage and said he has seen a nurse in Victoria who worked for 30 days without any vacations.

鈥淲e鈥檙e overworking our staff. I keep hearing from nurses and doctors who have decided they want to leave British Columbia because they just can鈥檛 handle the pressure anymore.鈥

鈥淭his should not be happening in our healthcare system. We need to be able to change how we look at staffing and actually change the health care administration in this province,鈥 Rustad said.





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