The emergency room at Cariboo Memorial Hospital was not closed on Monday, Oct. 2, despite a sign stating the contrary, Interior Health (IH) said.
A sign posted at the hospital on Oct. 2, reading ‘The emergency room is closed ** unless patient is imminently dying** Sorry for the inconvenience’ was taped to the glass at the entrance of the ER. The move drew the ire of some city council members, who publicly questioned why no one was notified of an ER closure.
“The ER was never closed,” said Diane Shendruk, vice-president of clinical operations for IH Wednesday. “We are reviewing why the sign was put up.”
Shendruk said it is always IH’s priority to let people know ahead of time of any emergency room closures.
Notification goes out through public bulletins sent to city councils, media and posted on the IH website and social media channels.
Shendruk confirmed they are struggling with staff issues and that someone had called in sick on Monday for work at the ER, but the team worked hard to replace that individual for the shift and was successful.
Cariboo Memorial Hospital does not want to implement diversion, which means patients would be directed to go to another health centre, she said.
“We are very sorry this happened and we want to regain people’s confidence.”
READ MORE: Williams Lake ER closure Monday, Oct. 2 comes a surprise to city council
