Interior Health president Susan Brown says service reductions caused by COVID-19 staff infections in rural communities are expected to last up to four weeks.

The health authority announced Tuesday that in Clearwater, Invermere and Lillooet. Overnight hours would also be reduced at health care centres in New Denver, Ashcroft and Barriere.

Brown said Wednesday the changes are being made to keep emergency rooms open due to staff sickness.

含羞草研究社淥ur goal is to ensure there含羞草研究社檚 sustainable access to care, and then if somebody needs admitting from those communities they would go to an alternative hospital.含羞草研究社�

Health minister Adrian Dix said Tuesday that across B.C. had required at least one sick day between Jan. 10 to 16.

Brown confirmed COVID-19 and the recent Omicron surge were the reasons for staff sickness, but wasn含羞草研究社檛 able to say how many Interior Health employees had been impacted.

The ones who are healthy, she said, are being redeployed where necessary. In Clearwater, for example, Brown said staff who work at the in-patient unit will shift over to assist the emergency room.

Interior Health has also begun rescheduling non-urgent elective surgeries that were to have taken place. Brown said approximately 2,800 surgeries will require rescheduling if the service reductions last four weeks.

含羞草研究社淲e know these are medically necessary procedures and we will do everything we can to get that service re-established quickly.含羞草研究社�

Brown stressed the changes are temporary, and are being done to ensure emergency rooms remain open.

含羞草研究社淚 think it含羞草研究社檚 really important that people know this decision wasn含羞草研究社檛 taken lightly. We know that rural healthcare is so important in the Interior and we含羞草研究社檒l do everything to get in-patient units opened up as quickly as possible.含羞草研究社�

READ MORE:

含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社�

| tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
Like us on and follow us on .