Short of staff, the South Similkameen Health Centre in Keremeos has paused all lab appointment bookings

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The South Similkameen Health Centre in Keremeos has temporary paused all lab appointment bookings due to short staffing.

Limited walk-in blood collection services will still be available from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, though during that time it will be closed 10-10:30 a.m. and 12-12:30 p.m.

Lab service is currently limited to INR blood clotting testing and urgent orders, authorized by a doctor only.

"We are making these changes to ensure our most vulnerable and urgent patients are able to access lab collection services in Keremeos," said Joanne Isber, corporate program director with Interior Health Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, in an emailed statement to Castanet.

Interior Health Laboratory outpatient collections are available at Penticton Regional Hospital and South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver. Appointments can be booked online at www.labonlinebooking.ca or by calling 1 844-870-4756.

The call centre is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on stat holidays.

Other options for lab collection are available at Valley Medical Laboratory, with one location in Osoyoos and two in Penticton.

"Interior Health recognizes the disruption this limited service has for Keremeos residents who have to travel for lab service," Isber said.

"There is a shortage of lab professionals in the South Okanagan and throughout the province. Interior Health continues to actively recruit lab professional to stabilize services throughout the South Okanagan and across Interior Health."