A Port Hardy doctor said the lack of evening emergency department hours in the district is forcing patients to travel to Port McNeill, which he warns could cost lives.
Dr. Alex Nataros was among several residents calling on Island Health to restore evening service at the Port Hardy Hospital emergency department.
“It has been closed for nearly three years after 5 p.m,” he said. “In my opinion, an emergency room has to be open 24 hours a day, if not it’s a urgent care centre.”
Nataros described the ongoing evening closures as the longest emergency room shutdown in Canada and said a municipality without emergent care is “a disaster waiting to happen.”
“It’s an emergency to have a closed emergency room,” he said. “I see patients every day that are suffering the consequences, and paramedics must drive 45 minutes down the road while performing resuscitation.”
He said the North Island has higher illness, morbidity and mortality rates than most of Vancouver Island, and said conditions are worsening.
“It’s a sicker population up here. I worked for five years in the Comox Valley, and it’s much worse in Port Hardy and the north end of the island,” he said. “We have a lot of Indigenous patients and those who suffer with substance abuse.”
Nataros said nine doctors in the region could support staffing an emergency department in Port Hardy, but Island Health said physician numbers are just one factor.
“Complete care team staffing is required for stable, safe 24/7 operations,” Island Health said. “The continued success in recruiting physicians to the community is an important step towards further stabilizing and enhancing local services.”
Island Health said it is investing in staffing across the region, but shortages remain.
“We continue to face challenges in recruiting the x-ray and lab technologists required to safely re-open the emergency department on a full-time basis,” it said. “Despite these challenges, recruitment of healthcare professionals to North Vancouver Island remains a key priority.”
The B.C. government said a $30-million provincial investment has supported staffing models, community services and upgrades at Port Hardy Hospital.
