Merritt Mayor Michael Goetz says he is working with the provincial health minister in the hopes of resolving staffing issues that have caused multiple closures of the emergency room at Nicola Valley Hospital.
Most recently, the hospital’s emergency room saw 24 hour closures on March 13 and March 10.
Goetz said he spoke with Minister Adrian Dix to address the issue, with the two agreeing to work together to come up with solutions.
“I told him I was concerned that we might be losing investment over this, because a lot of people will not want to invest in your community if you don’t have a fully functioning hospital,” Goetz said.
“I told him that some investors were a little shy — and it’s happening.”
Goetz said he is working with the Interior Health Authority to come up with solutions.
“The idea is to work with IHA the way I’m supposed to work, and work on retention, and working to get doctors here and coming up with a more formulated plan,” Goetz said.
He said the Merritt hospital should be able to use resources from nearby communities if needed.
“We should be able to pull resources from Kamloops hospital, or their emergency room if we need them here,” Goetz said.
The multiple closures have caused disruptions in the community.
“It affects everybody in the community,” said Goetz.
