This morning, The Globe and Mail released an updated national report on emergency room closures, turning their attention to the situation in British Columbia. The article highlights what rural communities across the province have long known and experienced: our healthcare system is fragile, and nowhere is that more visible than in the frequent and unplanned closures of rural emergency departments.
I was quoted in the piece alongside Dr. Jude Kornelsen from the Centre for Rural Health Research. While our mentions were brief, they bring national attention to the seriousness of BC’s rural health care challenges. Rural voices are finally being heard in a conversation that has often overlooked the people most affected.
Tricia Thorpe, left, and Don Glasgow lost their home in the 2021 Lytton wildfire, which destroyed the local 24/7 health centre. Now the closest emergency services are an hour away in Lillooet – but that emergency department has been shuttered for 1,384 hours over the past year.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
You can read the article here (note: it is behind a paywall for non-subscribers):
? In rural B.C., frequent ER closings show how ‘fragile’ the health care system has become – The Globe and Mail
The data presented is deeply concerning. Since early 2023, 29 of BC’s 77 emergency departments have faced temporary closures, adding up to more than 16,000 hours of lost emergency care. In communities like Chetwynd, Mackenzie, Lillooet, and Kitimat, these closures represent real risks to life and health. In many cases, the next available ER is hours away, over mountain roads or ferries that are not always passable.
These closures are not isolated incidents. They are a symptom of deeper system failure. When people in rural areas cannot access consistent, local primary care, they turn to emergency departments for non-emergency needs like prescriptions, chronic condition management, and basic assessments. Over time, this overloads ERs, stretches limited staffing resources, and contributes directly to burnout and temporary closures.
If we want to prevent future ER closures, we must begin by strengthening rural primary care.
This means investing in community-governed models of care like Community Health Centres, where care teams can be built around the needs of the local population. It means creating permanent, flexible funding programs to support rural clinics and recruit providers. It also means rethinking what continuity of care looks like in rural settings, where residents often receive care from a mix of locums, part-time providers, and visiting specialists. Team-based care models that provide consistency through shared records and coordinated support can go a long way to bridging these gaps.
We must also be clear about what ERs are meant to do. They are for emergencies. When they are forced to become catch-all clinics, everyone is put at risk.
Primary care reform offers a real opportunity to improve access, strengthen rural systems, and reduce the pressure that is currently overwhelming our emergency rooms. But reform will only succeed if rural experiences are placed at the center of the conversation.
To read more about Primary Care Reform in BC and to keep up to date on what we are doing at the BC Rural Health Network please see our newsletter and sign up to receive the lastest editions directly to your inbox. Lived experiences drive our positions and your voices matter, send your thoughts to us via email at info@bcruralhealth.org.
It is time to act, before more communities find themselves without a safety net.
