For second time in as many weekends, Interior Health (IH) has announced Oliver hospital’s emergency room will be closed due to a doctor shortage.
The South Okanagan General Hospital’s emergency department will shut down for 12 hours on Saturday, Jan. 27, from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Patients can access care at the Penticton Regional Hospital at this time, IH said.
The Oliver emergency room was plagued with closures in late 2023, including eight different service interruptions from Nov. 23 to Dec. 10.
Such interruptions came after Martin Johansen, the town’s mayor, called the situation “unacceptable” and following the province’s $7.5 million commitment to help stabilize physician emergency-room coverage in hospitals in Merritt, Oliver and Salmon Arm.
This weekend’s closure will mark the fourth in 2024 that emergency services have been unavailable in the South Okanagan town. Its most recent interruption was on Jan. 20.
All other hospital services will continue as normal on Saturday.
People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care should call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility, IH said.
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