District of Elkford Mayor Steve Fairbairn and Kootenay East MLA Tom Shypitka are calling on the provincial government and Interior Health Authority (IH) to address and solve the ongoing closure of the Elkford Health Centre Emergency Department (ED).

“Our Emergency Department has now been closed since September 29, 20211 and going on 16 months with no end in sight. Prior to this closure, the emergency room had previously closed for short durations, but always re-opened shortly thereafter,” Mayor Fairbairn stated in a Jan. 16 letter regional and provincial media outlets.

“To date, since this closure was announced, there has been no communication from Interior Health Authority regarding any plans to re-open the emergency department or the seemingly ‘indefinite closure.’ More recently, there have been rumours in the community that the Emergency Department will be permanently closed and equipment and supplies have slowly been removed from the clinic to and reallocated to other ‘active’ emergency departments.

“We have real concerns that not only is IH not making any attempt to re-open the clinic, but more that their plan is to permanently close the Elkford’s Emergency Department. IHA has not notified us of any changes to this closure—a date for reopening of the department, the continued ‘indefinite closure’, or even a permanent closure of the service,” Fairbairn said, adding that as an industrial hub Elkford should be a priority location for an ED.

Elkford’s and its 2,800 residents is the nearest community to Teck’s Fording River, Greenhills and Line Creek steel-making coal mines that produce about 80% of the gross domestic product for the East Kootenay, the mayor said.

“Approximately $1.3 billion dollars of economic activity in the Elk Valley comes from the Fording River mine, and that mine has a work force of approximately 1,400 people. Without Emergency Department services, patients will now be required to be transported to the nearest emergency room in Sparwood, which is open between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily, is 25 minutes south of Elkford and at least an hour from the Fording River mine, with travel time from the mine being at least 60 minutes,” Mayor Fairbairn outlined.

“If there is a significant emergency outside of these hours, patients are then required to travel an additional 30 minutes to the Fernie Hospital.”

Kootenay East MLA Tom Shypitka stated Jan. 23 that rural British Columbians deserve equity in the delivery of health care, echoing Mayor Fairbairn’s concerns.

“Elkford is also a mining town, where serious workplace accidents are a possibility. Workers absolutely need to be reassured that emergency care will be there when they need it, and quickly,” said Shypitka. “Once again, I’m calling on this NDP government to do whatever it takes to reopen the Elkford ED and help residents access the vital services they need. This community cannot accept any more NDP delays.”

Shypitka said it’s not good enough for the NDP to expect patients in medical distress to be transported either 45 minutes to Fernie, or 30 minutes to Sparwood where the ED has limited hours. Those driving times are on good days, but in the middle of winter it can take even longer.

“Adding insult to injury—no pun intended—are the ongoing challenges to our B.C. Ambulance service in Elkford, which is already understaffed and overburdened,” noted Mayor Fairbairn.

“At a recent discussion with B.C. Emergency Health Services, we are also told they are “looking into possible solutions” for Elkford— again, with no end in sight.

“The people who call Elkford home, as well as the mine workers in the area, deserve so much more than a ‘we’re looking into it’ or a ‘wait and see’ approach. Elkford deserves at least the same level of health care and emergency services as communities of similar, or even smaller population centres,” Mayor Fairbairn concluded.

“The ER in Elkford has already been closed for 16 months, and now Interior Health says it could take another year to restore emergency services in this community. Where is the action from our new Premier, who claimed he would ‘hit the ground running’ on big issues like health care?” asked Shirley Bond, Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Health. “All communities, including rural ones, deserve timely access to urgent health care services, close to home — but they’re not getting it under this government.”

e-KNOW looks forward to a response from the Ministry of Health and Interior Health.

e-KNOW file photo

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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