‘Totally unacceptable’: Metro Vancouver ER closures spark anger from local leaders

The mayor of Delta, B.C., is among those decrying a last-minute closure of the community’s hospital emergency department over the long weekend.

The latest emergency room closure in Metro Vancouver is drawing strong criticism from local officials, who say staffing shortages are endangering lives and exposing deep cracks in B.C.’s health-care system.

Delta Hospital’s ER was without a doctor overnight Monday, leaving emergency-trained nurses to assess patients and redirect them elsewhere.

It marked the third time this year the emergency room has been closed due to a physician shortage — and it’s prompting urgent calls for change from local leaders.“We appreciate your patience and support as we address these Health Human Resource challenges and thank our staff, medical staff and BC Emergency Health Services staff for their commitment to providing quality care,” wrote Fraser Health in a news release.

‘We need answers’

Delta Mayor George Harvie said he was notified of the closure just after 6 p.m. Monday, about an hour before it took effect.

“Well, a shock call came in,” Harvie said in an interview with CTV News. “I just can’t understand how you can operate a business like a hospital and not have enough staff to ensure that you have full complement. Everybody has illnesses in their workplaces.”

Harvie said he does not blame the staff on the ground, but rather Fraser Health and the provincial government for failing to put adequate backup plans in place.

“We expect emergency departments to be open because they’re there for life-threatening problems,” he said. “We need Fraser Health and the province to stop this.”

Harvie said he’s preparing to send another letter to Health Minister Josie Osborne, voicing council’s ongoing concerns.

“It would be equivalent to us having one firefighter off sick and not having an engine running. It’s totally unacceptable and just shows how broken the system is.”

Harvie also criticized the lack of Urgent and Primary Care Centres in Delta, noting the city of approximately 120,000 residents is the only one in Fraser Health’s jurisdiction without one.

“We actually need two — one in North Delta and one in South Delta, serving both South Delta residents and Tsawwassen First Nation,” he said. “We already have the highest wait times for an ambulance to get to a life-threatening call in all of Metro Vancouver. Now we have emergency closures too.”

‘A huge disappointment’

Delta South MLA Ian Paton echoed Harvie’s frustration, saying the closure was both shocking and unacceptable.

“You just don’t think it’s going to happen to us,” Paton said. “You hear of small towns in B.C. closing their ERs, but when it starts happening in Metro Vancouver — in Ladner, Tsawwassen, North Delta — it’s a bit of a shock.”

Paton also stressed that he isn’t blaming hospital staff, who he called “outstanding,” but he is pointing fingers at the NDP government.

“For eight years I’ve listened to health minister after health minister — Adrian Dix, Josie Osborne — say, ‘Don’t worry, help is on the way.’ But where is it?”

“Every weekend we see more ER closures across B.C. South Delta’s lost walk-in clinics, we don’t have urgent care centres, and now our ER is shutting down overnight. This is mismanagement.”

He said the government needs to have a backup plan — just as fire halls and police stations do.

“You don’t just shut down a fire hall because one or two of your firemen are ill. There has to be an immediate backup plan if a doctor can’t come to work.”

A province-wide crisis

B.C. Conservative rural health critic Brennan Day said what happened in Delta is part of a much bigger and growing crisis.

“There’ve been over six ER closures across B.C. this long weekend alone,” Day said. “We’re approaching 200 temporary closures this year, mostly in rural areas, but now it’s hitting larger centres like Delta and Mission.”

Day said the government’s priorities are out of step with the realities on the ground.

“We have new announcements and pet projects, but they can’t even keep basic health care functioning properly,” he said.

“People go to the ER during the worst moments of their lives. And now they’re wondering where to turn when the doors are closed.”

He called for urgent investment in staff retention, support for frontline workers, and more direct communication with those working in hospitals.

“Doctors and nurses are working 12-hour shifts without breaks. They’re burning out,” Day said. “We need to stop the hemorrhaging — bringing in more people won’t help if everyone’s leaving through the back door.”

When asked about the government’s efforts to recruit health professionals from the U.S., Day was skeptical.

“Absolutely not enough. We need to create the conditions and culture that stop the massive attrition we’re seeing,” he said.

“If the bottom of the bucket has a hole, we’re never going to catch up.”

Looking ahead

Both Harvie and Paton say they’ll continue pushing for concrete action, including better staffing plans, emergency resources, and long-promised UPCCs.

“We built this hospital with pride,” Paton said. “My mom still volunteers at the thrift shop, my sister was a nurse here. We’ve supported Delta Hospital for decades — and now we’re watching it fall apart because of poor planning at the top.”

Harvie agreed.

“Please give me a call,” he said, addressing the health minister. “I’d like to discuss this directly and see exactly what the province is going to do.”

Delta Hospital’s emergency department reopened early Tuesday, but officials say the pattern of closures must stop before it leads to irreversible consequences.

Mission Memorial Hospital also had no doctor in its ER from 5 p.m. Sunday until 8 a.m. Monday, in a facility that’s already seen at least four similar closures this year.

And in the Interior, South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver was also forced to close its ER for nearly a full day, reopening at noon Tuesday.CTV News has reached out to Osbourne’s office for comment.