Shirley Bond addresses Interior Health and NDP over Merritt’s $90K bill for ER closures

MERRITT/VICTORIA — Mayor Mike Goetz says the B-C government owes the city 90-thousand dollars for shutting down its lone emergency room last year for several days.

part of that amount is tied to services not rendered for the 19-day shutdown of the Nicola Valley Hospital’s E-R.

He says 55-thousand dollars of that should go to Merritt’s fire department for increased costs during the time of the shutdown.

Goetz adds that Merritt should be fully repaid for its added costs and hopes billing the province will set a precedent.

Mayor Mike Goetz – Zach Amin

At Victoria in the Legislature, BC United Shadow Minister for Health, Shirley Bond, confronted NDP Health Minister, Adrian Dix, over a $90,000 bill from the Mayor of Merritt Mike Goetz that reflects costs associated with 20 emergency room closures in 2023.

Despite recognizing the challenges facing Merritt’s ER, Dix refused to pay the bill, pushing the financial burden of these closures on the city.

Shirley Bond was in Merritt recently for a planned protest behind the Nicola Valley Hospital’s ER Unit, here’s a video of what she had to say about the NDP and the money the owe and Adrian Dix’s response.

(Click the link below to watch the Video)

Nicola Valley Hospital / Pattison Media

Since the beggining of 2024 the Nicola Valley Hospital has had two closures out of the 24 closures.

In 2023, the emergency department suffered from 20 closures due to staff shortage.

In March 2024, the provincial government announced a $237 million investment to implement minimum nurse-to-patient ratios.

Merrittonians still await results as their health and well being hang in the balance.