Island medical lab reopening after staff shortage forced closure

A Vancouver Island medical lab that closed in August due to a lack of staff will be reopening Tuesday.
The Ucluelet outpatient medical lab will reopen on Dec. 6, Island Health announced Friday.
The lab, located at 1566 Peninsula Rd., was closed Aug. 9 to ensure that there would be enough staff to operate inpatient and outpatient lab services at nearby Tofino General Hospital.
When it first announced the closure, the health authority said the Ucluelet lab would remain closed until more staff could be hired.
Staffing challenges have caused closures and hours reductions at health-care facilities across the Island and across B.C. this year.
When service at the Ucluelet lab resumes, the facility will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as it was before the closure. The new hours of operation will be 9:45 a.m. to noon and 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., according to Island Health.
Appointment booking is available online and through the health authority's laboratory call centre at 866-370-8355.
"We are thankful to the community for their patience and understanding and look forward to serving them once again," Island Health said in a statement.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada tracked suspected Chinese spy balloon over Canadian airspace since last weekend: sources
The suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that was found floating over sensitive military sites in the western United States had been tracked by Canada's government since last weekend as it passed through Canadian airspace, sources tell CTV News.

Oldest preserved vertebrate brain found in 319-million-year-old fish fossil
The oldest preserved vertebrate brain has been found in a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish skull that was removed from an English coal mine over a century ago.
Former NHL-er Ted Nolan among Indigenous players honoured in new hockey card series
It took 40 years, but former NHL player and coach Ted Nolan is now one of eight Indigenous ex-NHL-ers being honoured hockey trading cards as a part of Upper Deck's First Peoples Rookie Card series.
B.C. man who was mistaken for target, shot by police in 2013 has lawsuit dismissed
A B.C. man who was mistaken for the target in a police takedown and shot by an officer in 2013 has had his lawsuit alleging negligence dismissed.
Bodies are those of 3 rappers missing nearly 2 weeks: Detroit police
Three bodies found in a vacant Detroit-area apartment building have been identified as those of three aspiring rappers who went missing nearly two weeks ago, police said Friday.
Maid's son tells judge Alex Murdaugh took US$4M for her death
For much of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial, witnesses have talked about a generous and loving man -- but prosecutors want jurors to know that same man stole over US$4 million from his housekeeper's relatives after she died at work, and killed his wife and son to cover up his crimes.
Japanese prime minister's aide leaving over LGBTQ2S+ remarks
A senior aide to Japan's prime minister is being dismissed after making discriminatory remarks about LGBTQ2S+ people.
Jury: Musk didn't defraud investors with 2018 Tesla tweets
A jury on Friday decided Elon Musk didn't deceive investors with his 2018 tweets about electric automaker Tesla.
Stars disappearing before our eyes faster than ever: report
A new research from a citizen science program suggests that stars are disappearing before our eyes at an 'astonishing rate.'