Overnight closures at Mission Memorial Hospital’s emergency department will continue into next month, Fraser Health announced on Tuesday (April 7).
The emergency department will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until May 4, making it 51 straight nights with reduced hours at the E.R.
Fraser Health initially announced the temporary change in hours for March 14 to March 31. It was extended through April 6 last week and again until May 4 on Tuesday.
Emergency-trained nurses will stay on-site after 5 p.m. to support walk-in patients with basic care, assist with redirection of care and/or transferring patients to a neighbouring hospital.
Construction on the $18 million expansion and restoration of the emergency department is being accelerated during the service adaptations to increase treatment capacity “as quickly as possible”, Fraser Health said.
“During the temporary change in hours, construction continues to be fast-tracked as much as possible to minimize overall project timelines. We continue to pursue opportunities to further expedite this work as we know that completing it is key to our recruitment efforts,” the news release reads.
Fraser Health said physician recruitment at Mission Memorial Hospital remains a priority and efforts to prevent further service adaptations continue.
“Several physician candidates are currently moving through the hiring process and are expected to help improve coverage in the coming months,” the news release reads.
City of Mission Coun. Jag Gill said in a Facebook post last week that the ongoing closures are “unacceptable and incredibly frustrating.”
“Access to emergency care isn’t a luxury, it’s something every Canadian should be able to count on. Framing these disruptions as temporary ‘adaptations’ does nothing to address the very real hardship our residents are facing or doesn’t make them less alarming,” Gill said.
He said while the province has acknowledged recruitment challenges and indicated work is underway, meaningful results have yet to be seen on the ground.
Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper shared a letter to health minister Josie Osborne on social media expressing concern and requesting a meeting to discuss “immediate and concrete solutions”.
“This marks multiple service interruptions so far this year alone, including extended periods where the emergency department has not operated on a 24-hour basis. What was once treated as temporary has now become a pattern,” Gasper wrote.
She requested the ministry take immediate action to provide emergency funding to Fraser Health for recruitment and retention of emergency physicians and nurses at Mission Memorial Hospital; release a detailed timeline and measurable benchmarks for restoring 24-hour coverage; commit to weekly public reporting on ER staffing and closure risks; and engage directly with local physicians, nurses and municipal leaders to identify retention barriers and opportunities for recruitment.
“Redirecting patients to neighbouring communities in the middle of the night is not a sustainable or safe solution,” Gasper wrote. “It puts additional pressure on Abbotsford Regional Hospital, extends response times for critical emergencies, and leaves families uncertain about whether help will be available when they need it most.”
Fraser Health will hold its next public board meeting in Mission on April 22 at Best Western Plus Mission City Lodge from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The meeting will provide an opportunity to ask questions and engage directly with board members.
Any future adaptations will be communicated to the community in advance, Fraser Health says.