The emergency department at Mission Memorial Hospital was closed for two consecutive nights last weekend.
Fraser Health implemented the “service interruptions” from 6:30 p.m. on Saturday (March 29) to 8 a.m. on Sunday (March 30), then 6:30 p.m. on Sunday to 8:00 a.m. on Monday (March 31).
According to news releases from Fraser Health, physician staffing challenges caused the closures.
Mission Memorial Hospital site medical director Dr. Paul Theron said in a statement that he recognized the impact of the service interruptions and apologized for any inconvenience these may have caused.
“Access to timely emergency care is critical, and we share the community's concerns about ongoing challenges in maintaining consistent services,” Theron said. “Emergency Departments across the health authority and the province continue to face persistent staffing challenges, which require urgent and focused action.”
Theron says the hospital is working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to stabilize emergency services by addressing these shortages, filling vacant shifts, and strengthening physician recruitment efforts.
“We appreciate the Mission and surrounding communities' patience and understanding as we navigate these challenges and remain committed to finding long-term solutions to ensure reliable emergency care,” Theron said.
The emergency department was closed once in February and six times in the summer of 2024.
To help cover critical-to-fill shifts in the emergency department, Fraser Health will pay for physicians’ travel and accommodations in some instances. Depending on the shift, Fraser Health will also offer incentives in the range of $3,060 to $4,125 per shift.
“We are actively working to support our emergency physicians immediately and over the longer term with targeted and ongoing local, national and international recruitment activities and we are also working directly with the Ministry of Health to explore additional opportunities to stabilize Emergency Department physician staffing across our sites. This priority work is ongoing,” Fraser Health said in a statement.
According to Fraser Health, there are no unfilled physician shifts at Mission Memorial Hospital this week and service interruptions aren’t anticipated.
“However, physician schedules are dynamic and can change for a variety of reasons in real time. It is important to note our efforts to fill shifts, and prevent emergency department service interruptions is almost always successful, and Fraser Health’s average prevention rate is 99 per cent. When a physician gap is identified, we work hard until the very last moment to fill it before we implement temporary service interruption protocol,” the health authority said.
