Just three days into the new reduced service hours at the Kaslo health centre and Interior Health has had to shut it down.
Ironically Friday’s closure has nothing to do with the ongoing doctor shortage but rather a lack of nursing staff.
IH says with the staffing rotation changes to the new hours, there was a scheduling oversight and they were unable to fill the shift this morning. IH calls today’s closure a one-off.
The health centre reduced service hours from 24/7 to weekdays only 9 to 5 as of this week.
That’s in a bid to attract physician recruits who can then build a stable primary health care base in the community.