Island Health reducing hours at Comox Valley medical lab

A medical lab in the Comox Valley is the latest facility on Vancouver Island to see its hours of operation reduced.
The outpatient lab at North Island Hospital in Courtenay will be closed on weekends and statutory holidays from July 1 to Sept. 3, according to a statement issued by Island Health on Thursday.
Its new weekday opening hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the health authority.
The lab was previously open from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"People requiring outpatient lab services on Saturdays can attend the LifeLabs Courtenay location or the lab at North Island Hospital (in) Campbell River," Island Health's statement reads.
The health authority did not explicitly state that a shortage of health-care workers is to blame for the reduction in hours, but facilities across the province have been struggling with staff shortages for months.
Several other Island Health facilities have seen their hours reduced temporarily in recent weeks, and a lack of staff has been blamed in some cases.
Island Health said the reduction in hours at the Courtenay lab "will ensure reliable, consistent acute and outpatient laboratory services at NIH-CV."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
WATCH LIVE | Committee set to hear testimony on alleged political interference in N.S. mass shooting
The House of Commons Public Safety and National Security Committee is set to meet today to discuss allegations of political interference in the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.

Canada's inflation rate slows to 7.6 per cent in July as gas prices fall
Canada's year-over-year inflation rate slowed to 7.6 per cent in July, with the deceleration largely driven by a decline in gas prices. The inflation rate hit a nearly 40-year-high of 8.1 per cent in June, but economists were widely expecting inflation to have since slowed.
OPINION | Economists are forecasting a recession, how should you prepare?
The next time the Bank of Canada raises interest rates on the scheduled date of September 7, 2022, it could potentially trigger a recession. Although there may be a chance that we don’t enter into a recession and the BoC is still hoping for a soft landing, it’s best to be prepared. Contributor Christopher Liew explains how.
Explosions rock Crimea in suspected Ukrainian attack
Explosions and fires ripped through an ammunition depot in Russia-annexed Crimea on Tuesday in the second suspected Ukrainian attack on the peninsula in just over a week, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.
One in four border officers witnessed discrimination by colleagues: internal report
One-quarter of front line employees surveyed at Canada's border agency said they had directly witnessed a colleague discriminate against a traveller in the previous two years.
Minister asks Canadians not to fake travel plans to skip passport application lines
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development of Canada Karina Gould is discouraging people from making fake travel plans just to skip the line of those waiting for passports.
Data centres at risk of overheating as heat waves becomes more intense
As heat waves become more common and extreme due to the effects of climate change, the data centres that provide the backbone for the online services the public relies on are at risk of overheating.
Green Canadian hydrogen not an immediate solution to Germany's energy worries
Some energy experts warn a deal to sell Canadian hydrogen to Germany will serve as only a small, far-off and expensive part of the solution to Europe's energy crisis.
Alberta looks to poach skilled workers from Vancouver, Toronto
The government of Alberta is looking to draw skilled workers from Toronto and Vancouver to the province and launched its recruitment campaign Monday morning.