Expanded physician coverage will allow the Fort St. James Emergency Room to be open for eight days during the month of May. Northern Health (NH) has managed to secure locum (temporary fill-in) physicians to cover some shifts for the month.
The dates the emergency room will be open are: May 4-6, May 12-13, and May 19-21.
Due to challenges securing further locum coverage, the emergency room coverage will experience temporary closures for the dates not listed above. We will provide updates should the status change.
The Stuart Lake Hospital emergency room is the only department affected by these closures. The rest of the hospital will remain open and patients will not be impacted.
Lab and X-Ray at Stuart Lake Hospital are still operating as normal. Patients can continue to use these services.
If necessary, acute care patients will be discharged or transferred to another facility based on their care needs.
Northern Health is also working with the BC Ambulance Service to manage emergencies during these periods.
Individuals who require emergency attention can call 9-1-1 for transport to the next open emergency department in Vanderhoof or Prince George, or can seek private transportation. Patients need to be aware that once discharged from the emergency department in Vanderhoof or Prince George, patients will be required to find their own transport back to their home community.
Northern Health’s emergency rooms tend to patients who have experienced a sudden and/or unusual change in their health. This includes, but isn’t limited to: breathing difficulties, severe bleeding or pain, broken bones, chest pain and eye injuries.
Patients who aren’t sure whether their condition would warrant an emergency room visit, or who need health advice can call HealthLink BC (8-1-1), or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Fort St. James Medical Clinic remains open. Please note the following:
Hours of operation are Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Closed from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Appointments can be booked by calling 250-996-8291.
Only same day appointments will be booked.
Prescription refills are available on Wednesday’s from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at:
The Fort St. James Medical Clinic
Lakeside Pharmacy
Northern Health continues to actively recruit both permanent and locum physicians to the community, and has been meeting and working with community representatives and the physicians on a short- and long-term solution.
Currently, NH is working on a number of different campaigns to recruit doctors to Fort St. James including mail-out/phone/email campaign, setting up booths at physicians’ conferences, working on a website, and purchasing advertising in medical journals that physicians regularly read.