More service reductions at North Island health-care facilities

Port Hardy Hospital is seen in this photo from the Island Health website. (islandhealth.ca)

Temporary overnight closures of the emergency department at Port Hardy Hospital will continue through Tuesday, and another North Island facility is also reducing its services this weekend, according to Island Health.

The outpatient lab at North Island Hospital Campbell River will not be accepting walk-ins on Saturday, the health authority announced in an early morning statement.

The change is intended "to ensure reliable, consistent acute and outpatient laboratory service," Island Health said, adding that inpatient lab work, emergency sample collections and sample drop-off will continue during normal hours at the Campbell River facility.

"We acknowledge the inconvenience of this temporary change and appreciate people’s patience as we work to support acute and outpatient services," the health authority said. "During this temporary reduction, patients requiring walk-in outpatient lab services can attend the LifeLabs location in Courtenay."

The Campbell River outpatient lab is typically open Monday to Saturday and closed Sundays. Because Monday is a holiday, walk-in service will resume on Tuesday, Oct. 11, Island Health said.

Meanwhile, farther north, the overnight closures of Port Hardy Hospital's emergency department that began Friday night have been extended through the weekend.

Island Health announced Friday that the emergency room – which is supposed to be open 24 hours a day – would close from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. through Tuesday morning.

All other inpatient services at the hospital will continue as normal, and patients needing emergency care are urged to call 911 or – if possible – proceed to Port McNeill Hospital's emergency department.

The overnight closures are the latest in an ongoing pattern of service disruptions caused by a lack of hospital staff on the North Island and across the province.

"Island Health acknowledges this is not an ideal situation for the community and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience experienced by this temporary service interruption," the health authority said.

It added that it is "taking action locally" to make the North Island "an even more attractive place for health-care professionals."

"This includes adding more support staffing resources within our sites, expanding our retention and recruitment activities, enhancing our local leadership and educator teams and investing in infrastructure improvements," Island Health said. "There has been significant effort focused on recruitment and retention of doctors and other care providers, and this continues to be a key priority moving forward."