‘Imminently dying’; Williams Lake E.R. sign causes stir in B.C. legislature

Oct 5, 2023 | 3:35 PM

VICTORIA — A controversial photo taken at Cariboo Memorial Hospital that is making the rounds on social media became the subject of heated debate in the B.C. legislature Thursday (Oct. 5).

The sign says, “This emergency room is closed unless patient is imminently dying. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Shirley Bond, the B.C. United MLA for Prince George-Valemount, said the sign is an indictment of the NDP government’s management of the province’s healthcare system.

“I can’t imagine that this minister or premier would be willing to stand up and defend the fact that there are signs in emergency rooms that say you have to be imminently dying to get help,” said Bond.

Health Minister Adrian Dix told Bond the sign was not accurate and that the emergency department in Williams Lake was fully open when the photo was taken.

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“Basing your question on a sign that wasn’t accurate, wasn’t correct in an emergency room that was still open is not, I don’t think, the correct approach,” said Dix.

Bond also noted a recent instance in which a nurse called 9-1-1 for assistance in the emergency room in Smithers.

Meantime, after being pressed by Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar, Dix noted help has arrived for the desperate situation at Nicola Valley Hospital in Merritt.

“When will this new normal of the NDP’s health care actually change and see people getting the health care they need — and more importantly, the emergency rooms they should have open in their communities stay open?” asked Milobar.

“How we respond to that is by training more nurses and recruiting more nurses because that has been the crucial issue in Merritt,” countered Dix. “That’s why, working with GoHealth B.C., three GoHealth B.C. [registered nurses] just started in Merritt in September.”

The emergency department in Merritt has been closed more than a dozen times in 2023.

by James Peters

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‘Imminently dying’; Williams Lake E.R. sign causes stir in B.C. legislature

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