By Richard McGuire and Lyonel Doherty
The potential closure of the emergency room at South Okanagan General Hospital this weekend has been averted.
Chief of Staff Dr. Peter Entwistle said there was a real potential for the ER to close this weekend due to lack of physician coverage. But after some discussion, physicians made themselves available, he said.
“We all encourage doctors to work (in the ER),” he stated.
Entwistle, who is resigning as chief of staff at the end of the month, is running as an independent candidate in the May 9 provincial election.
On Thursday night he continued to voice his concerns about ER closures at the Oliver hospital.
“It looks like there might be a closure this weekend,” he said.
Entwistle said Interior Health hasn’t addressed the ER issue that has become quite problematic.
“Our MLA (Linda Larson) says it’s not a problem if our ER department closes. I would very much beg to differ,” the physician said. “I think it’s very concerning that the health authority and by extension the government doesn’t seem to care about providing emergency services.”
He noted that both Interior Health and Larson don’t believe that closures are a big deal.
During an all-candidates forum in Oliver recently, Larson said sometimes there are not enough physicians to do the work, so it’s better to close the ER for one night and have patients sent to other facilities for care.
Larson stressed that nobody in Oliver goes without treatment, adding that everyone is taken care of within the appropriate time frame.
On Friday morning Larson acknowledged the doctors who stepped up to the plate to cover the ER this weekend.
She pointed out that Oliver recently recruited several new physicians who will share in ER duties at the hospital. So she believes there is no problem in that department.
Larson stated the emergency room was closed three nights during the past year, with only three people having to go to Penticton Regional Hospital.
“That is not a crisis. Everyone is served incredibly well in this hospital.”
The MLA said she met with hospital staff on Friday morning to look at the ER department to see how it can be reconfigured to better serve the community. She noted that some ideas are being explored.
