Photo: Castanet

The emergency room at Nicola Valley Hospital will be closed from 8 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 28 to 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29.

UPDATE: 5:40 a.m.

Nursing coverage was found to keep the Nicola Valley Hospital emergency department open overnight.

Interior Health advises that the ER will remain open until 8 a.m. Thursday.

However, emergency services will be unavailable after that, until 8 a.m. Friday.

Patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, IH advises.

All other inpatient services will continue as normal at Nicola Valley Hospital.

UPDATE: 8:40 p.m.

Public access to the emergency room at the hospital in Merritt is being temporarily suspended sooner than expected.

Interior Health sent an update late Wednesday evening to say the ER at Nicola Valley Hospital would be unavailable effective immediately until 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.

Patients needing emergency care are being directed to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

ORIGINAL 6:45 p.m.

The emergency room at Nicola Valley Hospital will be closed all day Thursday.

Interior Health announced that from 8 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 28 to 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, emergency department services will be unavailable at the hospital in Merritt. Patients will have to go to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops instead.

IH says the reason for the ER closure is “unexpected limited physician availability.”

If you experience a life-threatening emergency, you should call 911 to be transported to the nearest available and appropriate facility. Anyone unsure about whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca

While the emergency room won’t be available on Thursday, all other inpatient services will continue as normal at Nicola Valley Hospital.