The emergency department at South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH) will be temporarily closed for the fourth time in a week, with the closure for a full 24 hour period compared to the usual 12 hour closures.
The closure takes effect from 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2. due to what Interior Health says is “limited physician availability”.
Patients can access care at Penticton Regional Hospital during this time. All other inpatient services will continue as normal at South Okanagan General Hospital.
Those needing 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.
This marks the third time the emergency ward has been closed for a 12-hour period in less than a week. The previous closures were on Tuesday, Nov. 28 (daytime closing) and Friday, Nov. 24 (night closing).
Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
