Delta Hospital’s ER shutdown is more than a staffing issue—it’s a failure of planning
Anger and fear rippled through Delta, Ladner and Tsawwassen over the weekend after a doctor shortage led to the closure of Delta Hospital’s emergency room for two evenings, leaving almost 120,000 people without critical access to health care.
“Our community really supports our Delta Hospital, it raises millions of dollars, but we need to have the province provide some additional services or either expand the emergency department itself,” he said. In urban B.C., health authorities have so far been able to shuffle around staff to avert closures in stressed facilities like Peace Arch Hospital’s ER. Until now.
Premier David Eby pledged to do more to help avoid hospital ER closures after almost losing October’s provincial election, and directed new Health Minister Josie Osborne in her mandate letter to take unspecified steps to address the issue. The NDP government has also not created an Urgent and Primary Care Centre in South Delta, and walk-in services are non-existent, leaving no options outside of the hospital.
The flashpoint is a proposal for four 24-storey condo towers at Tsawwassen Town Centre, which would add more than 1,433 people to the small town and strain existing roads, schools and other infrastructure. The project is currently before council, though there is unspoken pressure by the NDP government to approve it, due to provincially-set housing growth targets.
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