Emergency Room at Nicola Valley Hospital forced to close for 25 hours beginning Sunday morning

As if the wildfire situation in the Nicola Valley was not enough to worry about this weekend, now we learn that the Emergency department of the Nicola Valley Hospital will be closed beginning Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 am Monday July 27.

Interior Health issued the released shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday.

This marks the sixth closure of the Emergency Department since June 18 and comes as the Nicola Valley is embraced by a Yellow Air Quality warning as a result of the Brunswick Complex of Fire burning near Boston Bar which have also forced evacuations and evacuation alerts within many parts of the area.

Interior Health says patients can access emergency care at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops during the closure, which is almost an hour-long drive away.

“People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility,” said Interior Health.