Rural B.C. mayors band together to press for fix to emergency room closures

A number of B.C. small-town mayors are banding together to press the province for action on emergency room closures.

The action comes after communities including Oliver, Merritt, Williams Lake and Lillooet have faced repeated ER closures driven primarily by staffing shortages.

In September, Lillooet Mayor Laurie Hopfl began recruiting her counterparts in affected communities to create a ‘Mayors’ ER Working Group,’ aimed at crafting a made-in-rural-B.C. approach to the problem.

“If a senior falls and breaks a hip it’s four hours. We have no public transportation. We have no way to transport these people and it’s very challenging and it’s going to be a life-or-death situation,” Hopfl said of the ongoing ER closure problem.

“It’s so hard, and that is why I am reaching out to other communities because it is so personal to me.”

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ER closures in rural and remote communities hit historic levels over the summer, with some facing weekly shutdowns.

Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz said he’s also concerned there could be a surge of closures come the holiday season.

“Because doctors and nurses have families. They want to spend time with their families, and they should have the right to spend time with their families,” he told Global News.

“So what we need to do is have a work environment that is cohesive for everyone. And that means having proper coverage through all of these departments.”

Voters in the Interior appear to have sent a clear message to the governing NDP, reducing the New Democrats to just four MLAs outside Southwestern B.C.

One suggestion the group is offering is that Premier David Eby put up ministers responsible for rural communities, or specifically for rural healthcare.

Other suggestions include sorting out hospital privileges for doctors in the First Nations Health Authority and putting administrators back into hospitals.

Goetz said the time for words has ended, and that the working group now wants to put “boots to the ground and find solutions.”

“It’s time to actually start coming up with a plan where we can all work together. It’s easy to be critical, but I think now is the time where if we can come up with a process to keep these ERs open,” Goetz said.

“If we get this group together no idea would be too crazy.”

As for the Minister of Health, a portfolio currently held by Adrian Dix, rural mayors are suggesting it may be time for him to change jobs as well, largely in an attempt to give fresh eyes to a problem that continues to plague many communities.