B.C. emergency room to close for 25 hours on Christmas Eve

An Interior Health sign is seen outside the entrance to Kelowna Community Health & Services Centre in this undated file photo. (CTV)

The emergency department at 100 Mile House District General Hospital in B.C.’s Interior will be closed on Christmas Eve.

Interior Health Announced the “temporary changes to emergency department hours” on Tuesday evening. The ER will be closed from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday.

The health authority advised patients to instead go to Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake, about an hour’s 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,” a notice reads.

Other inpatient care services at the hospital will operate as normal.