Mackenzie Hospital struggling with emergency room closures; BC Liberal MLA demanding change

BC Liberal MLA Mike Morris says patients in Mackenzie continue to suffer as the community’s hospital struggles with Emergency Room closures.

According to the Prince George-Mackenzie representative, the Mackenzie Hospital lost over 300 hours of service due to closures last year.

He told Vista Radio the nursing shortages in BC seem to be getting shored up everywhere else except for the north.

“I haven’t seen any indication that they are addressing the staffing shortage in Mackenzie. I am quite concerned over that, particularly with the announcement where places like Port Hardy and northern Vancouver Island will be getting more resources and they seem to have given up on Northern BC.”

The facility is two hours away from Prince George’s University Hospital while the closest ER is located in Chetwynd 175 kilometres away.

“There have been some critical situations that have occurred over the last couple of years involving heart attacks, serious injuries, and falls. And the other part that exacerbates this is that when Northern Health sends instructions out on diversion that they should call 9-1-1. Well, we have a stressed 9-1-1 system already throughout the province, and when they do call, the ambulance is often tied up and is being diverted to Prince George or Bear Lake and there is no one else since there are only three people staffed.”

Morris adds Mackenzie only has three ambulance attendants while smaller communities like Fort Saint James, McBride, and Valemount that have eight full-time staff, putting a further strain on our 9-1-1 system.

In order for the situation to get resolved, Morris believes a more proactive recruiting approach by Northern Health is paramount.

“So if somebody does want to become a nurse in a smaller community they often look at more southern geographic locations and the northern interior often gets the short shrift out of this. There needs to be some kind of a mechanism that would attract people to work in these communities,” said Morris.

Lastly, Morris noted he isn’t aware of any extended closures this year, mainly because they aren’t announced to the public anymore.