“Plan your heart attack accordingly,” Closure at the Nicola Valley Hospital pushes Merrittonians to their limit.

MERRITT — It’s a been broken record for Merrittonians.

Because of limited staffing another temporary closure for the Nicola Valley Hospital emergency was announced.

All other inpatient services will continue as normal.

Those who need life-threatening emergency care should contact 911.

Councillors Protest Closure in the Summer of 2023 | Zach Amin Photography

Emergency department services will be unavailable today Monday, (Feb. 12th at 8 a.m.) until tomorrow at 8 a.m. (Tuesday, Feb. 13th)

Patients who seek emergency services are being told to head to the Kamloops  Royal Inland Hospital.

It’s a risky situation as any life or death situations will have to wait at least an hour to arrive in Kamloops, which could be a fatal amount of time to wait for any care.

The nurses union are still planning a protest in Merritt but the date has yet to be confirmed.

Georgia Clement, who has been very active in opposing the closure had this to say,

“the Mayor needs to withhold funds for each ER closure, we do not want to pay for staff that is not here.”

“Plan your heart attack accordingly.”

Georgia runs the Facebook group Nicola Valley ER Crisis and urges Merrittonians to join the group and help fight back against Interior Health’s constant closures.