FRASER HEALTH on Saturday advised Delta and surrounding area residents that due to physician staffing challenges at Delta Hospital, it is implementing a temporary service interruption from 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 22, to Sunday, February 23 at 7 a.m.

The service interruption will begin at 9:30 p.m. to ensure all patients already in the emergency department can be seen by a physician before they end their shift at 1:30 a.m

After 9:30 p.m., emergency-trained nurses will continue to be on site and available to support walk-in patients needing basic first aid, assist with re-direction of care, and/or transfer patients with urgent needs to a neighbouring hospital.

Fraser Health is working closely with B.C. Emergency Health Services to ensure patients requiring a high-level of care are directed or transferred to an appropriate hospital emergency service.

Anyone with a life-threatening emergency, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing or severe bleeding, should call 9-1-1 immediately and will be transported to the nearest available and appropriate facility.

This service interruption impacts the Emergency Department only. All other services at Delta Hospital are available.

All other Fraser Health Emergency Departments remain open and have emergency physicians on site; however, high numbers of people seeking care and human resources challenges at many of its hospital emergency departments may lead to longer wait times for patients with non-urgent care concerns.

To help ensure emergency departments are available for people who need emergency health care, Fraser Health said it encourages people with non-urgent health needs to know their non-emergency care options:

• Call the Fraser Health Crisis Line 24/7 at 1-877-820-7444
• Call Fraser Health Virtual Care at 1-800-314-0999 to speak with a registered nurse from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. You can also call 8-1-1 outside of those hours to speak with a health service navigator or a registered nurse.