Three Emergency Room closures since March 9th, two of them in less than 24 hours this past Saturday and Sunday continue to make for some shockwaves for residents concerned for the state of Health Care in Prince Rupert.
As we've noted over the course of those ten days, last night, on Saturday and a week ago, the closure of the Emergency Room at PRRH was required as a result of an inability to secure physician services.
March 17 -- Sunday interruption added to weekend Closure issued for Emergency Room Service in Rupert
March 16 -- Another Emergency Room Closure for Prince Rupert, as lack of physician coverage issue rises again
Patients with health concerns were being directed to either virtual health options or to call 911 for serious health issues and a possible transit to Terrace two hours to the east of the city.
Northern Health used it's social media stream to share word of the closures, with two of three of the ER closures also shared by the City of Prince Rupert.
Prior to the twin closures of this weekend, Northern Health appeared to be preparing the community for more of those situations, with a social media relay of information focused on what Service Interruptions are about.
With the increased frequency of the closures for the Prince Rupert Emergency Room, still to be heard from is comment from the BC Ambulance service, providing some background on how the potential increase of transits to the Terrace facility may impact on local service in the community.
It wasn't that long ago that the local Ambulance station was facing short staffing and other issues that had raised concerns of City Council.
What measures may be in place to bolster Ambulance service with this additional burden now in place, should be one of a number areas of note that Northern Health should include as part of a review for the public. With the Heath Authority also advising as to what steps they are taking to address what is a very concerning situation when it comes to Health care for the community.
As Prince Rupert residents were weighing their options as to whether their health issues of the weekend required a late night trip to Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace.
In perhaps the worst timing possible for a release of a promotional video for the new Terrace hospital ... Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice and Terrace Mayor Sean Bujtas posted a Video to X-Twitter on Saturday.
The trio having just taken a tour of the new facility earlier in the day; clearly quite impressed at the state of the art medical care set to come to the Terrace area by year's end.
For Ms. Rice, the first focus was on the modern facility that will be opened to the public in Terrace.
"It's incredible, it's so modern, I don't think a lot of us in the Northwest are used to this calibre of modernization.
Ms. Rice also had some notes to direct to Prince Rupert residents towards the new status of the Terrace facility as a Trauma centre.
"But I think it's really important just for the folks back home in Prince Rupert that are feeling a bit jealous.
But I think it's really important to know that this is going to be a trauma centre, so when your loved one gets shipped out, you're only two hours away or an hour and half away.
So instead of them going to Vancouver like we've been doing for years and years out of Prince Rupert, you'll be able to drive here or find a ride here and be there to comfort your loved one.
So this is a really important hospital for the entire Northwest"
All valid points for regional health care, but at the moment, that's likely not the number one discussion point that Ms. Rice's constituents might have for their MLA, who is also the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health.
You can review their thoughts on the new Terrace facility here.
More background related to Health Care in the Northwest can be explored here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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