By Staff
Posted December 26, 2025 1:36 pm
1 min read
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A hospital in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is shutting its emergency department during overnight hours for more than a week due to staffing challenges.
Fraser Health says in a release that Mission Memorial Hospital’s emergency department will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Dec. 29 to Jan. 6 to reflect what it says are “systemic pressures being experienced across Canada.”
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During that time, the hospital will have emergency-trained nurses to assess walk-in patients and provide basic care, as well as redirect them to a neighbouring hospital if their needs are more urgent.
Mission Memorial Hospital site medical director Dr. Paul Theron says in a statement that the temporary closure is to “enable consistent and plannable hours” while enabling the hospital to “align services with available staffing and maintain patient safety.”
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Theron also says the hospital is working with the provincial Ministry of Health “to stabilize longer-term staffing.”
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Fraser Health announced earlier this month that four hospitals in the B.C. Interior — three of which have had periodic emergency-department closures due to staffing shortages — are starting a pilot program where emergency-care patients may be seen virtually by an off-site doctor.
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