Northern BC residents needing emergency department care have a new resource to let them know how to access care in the event local services are interrupted.
“When emergency departments are temporarily unavailable for any reason, the most important thing for someone facing a medical emergency is knowing where to go for care,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “This webpage helps people quickly see the status of emergency departments in their community and find clear information about other options when they need non-emergency care.”
Northern Health launched an emergency department (ED) status webpage to notify the public in real time about service interruptions at their local facility due to staffing challenges.
The site indicates the status of emergency department services around the Northern Health region, stating whether a facility’s emergency department is open or temporarily closed. Northern Health examined various models and determined that the status of local emergency departments is more informative than comparisons of wait times between facilities that vary in size, the scope of care provided and the distances between them.
Read the full BC Gov news release: Informing about emergency department status in the North. Northern Health launches webpage that notifies people about service interruptions.
Learn more about the emergency department (ED) status webpage.