File photo (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

ER CLOSURES

Dr. Helmcken Hospital in Clearwater has emergency department closure Saturday

Jun 8, 2024 | 10:27 AM

Clearwater, B.C. — The Emergency Department at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater is closed due to a shortages of nurses.

Emergency services are unavailable from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday June 8.

Patients are advised to seek care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops or 100 Mile House District General Hospital.

This is the second closure of the ER in Clearwater in the past few weeks, with the department also closed on May 21. At that time, Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell noted there could be some tough times ahead for his community.

“I don’t think this is a one-off. I think we are going to be at this for a while,” said Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell on May 22. “I’m hoping that it’s not too frequent but we have seen a hole in the schedule that has been coming for quite a while. We do have vacancies here in Clearwater for full-time positions — I believe it is above six positions, which is actually quite significant — for [registered nurses, licensed practical nurses], people with emergency room qualifications. We have been recruiting on that for quite a while now.”

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