Island Health is assuring residents and visitors of the central Vancouver Island region that it has strategies in place to keep the West Coast General Hospital (WCGH) emergency department running in the event of staffing shortages.
“Like most health authorities around B.C. and across Canada, Island Health is challenged by a shortage of trained emergency department nurses and physicians. These challenges are even more prevalent in rural and remote regions,” Island Health wrote in an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa.
A rumour was circulating that the WCGH emergency department is understaffed and, at times, at risk of closure. This has occurred at other hospitals in the province, including over 120 temporary ER closures in 2024 within Interior Health. In the Island Health region, a shortage of nurses has forced the emergency rooms of the Port Hardy and Alert Bay hospitals to close at night since January 2023.
With the ongoing doctor shortage resulting in long wait lists for family physicians, locals in Port Alberni have found other ways to be seen during an emergency. Some go to the privately run Urgent Care (Walk-In) Clinic on Maple Way, others go to the hospital emergency department in Port Alberni, Parksville’s Oceanside Health Centre or the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Some use Telehealth or other virtual doctor consulting service.
But those living west of Port Alberni in Tofino, Ucluelet and Nuu-chah-nulth communities beyond rely on WCGH for their emergencies, a critically important facility in their times of need. And Island Health says it recognizes the critical role West Coast General plays in supporting timely access to care for people throughout the Alberni Valley and west coast of the island.
Island Health says they are committed to ensuring continued and ongoing availability of 24/7 emergency services at WCGH. They say their local teams are continuously monitoring schedules for physician and nursing coverage at the hospital.
“When gaps in coverage are identified, there are multiple strategies available to find appropriate staffing,” stated Island Health.
That includes bringing in healthcare staff from other regions, when necessary. In the summer of 2023 the wildfire at Cameron Lake closed the highway for several weeks. During that time, Island Health flew hospital staff in and out of Port Alberni to keep WCGH staffed.
In addition to bringing in staff, Island Health is prioritizing training and orientation for nurses at WCGH to work across multiple departments.
“We are committed to taking all steps possible to ensure the continued and ongoing availability of 24/7 emergency services at WCGH. We want to reassure people that WCGH will continue to be ready to take care of anyone who shows up in need of care,” stated the health authority. “We are having success with recruitment and seeing a decrease in vacant nursing lines.”
When it comes to emergency department physicians, WCGH has a local team dedicated to recruitment, retention, and coordinating emergency department coverage.
“When gaps in physician coverage are identified for upcoming shifts, the local team sends a call out to Island Health’s network of physicians. This includes physicians working with Island Health, around B.C. and across Canada,” stated Island Health. “WCGH recently began using the provincial Emergency Physician Resource Team to increase the pool of potential physicians available to cover shifts.”
The Emergency Physician Resource Team (EPRT) provides short-term physician coverage to busy hospitals to keep emergency departments open and accessible to communities while permanent physician recruitment and other options for local coverage are pursued.
In addition, Island Health has made significant investments specifically focused on improving the care experience for Aboriginal people by expanding the Indigenous Health team at WCGH. This includes more scheduled hours for Indigenous Liaison Nurses and Indigenous Patient Navigators in the emergency department.
“These additional supports add tremendous value for the care teams as they strive to provide culturally appropriate, high-quality care,” said Island Health.
For those seeking non-urgent medical care, an alternative to the WCGH emergency department is the Urgent Care Clinic, known locally as the ‘Walk-in Clinic’, located at 3949 Maple Way. The clinic is important to the large portion of the population that cannot find a family doctor in the city.
It is open for two-hour intervals twice a day on most weekdays subject to physician availability and patient volume. Call 778-421-1219 or check the Port Alberni Urgent Care Clinic webpage for the schedule.