TUMBLER RIDGE, B.C. - Tumbler Ridge residents are hosting a healthcare rally this weekend as they continue to push for the return of full emergency room services at the community’s health centre.
The rally, called ‘One Year Closed, One Year Too Long,’ is scheduled for Saturday, September 26 at 11 a.m. on the steps of Tumbler Ridge Town Hall.
Organizers say the event will include speakers from the community, followed by a march to the health centre.
Organizer Chris Norbury said the demonstration is intended to keep pressure on Northern Health and provincial officials to restore around-the-clock emergency room coverage.
Previous Closure
Northern Health announced plans about a year ago to permanently close the town’s emergency department after hours.
Community members responded with a rally, a letter-writing campaign and a petition that gathered about 1,800 signatures. He said those efforts helped convince the health authority to reverse a permanent closure and reinstate limited services.
Today, the emergency department operates seven days a week, but only during daytime and early evening hours, closing at 7 pm.
Residents requiring care overnight must rely on ambulance transport to facilities in Dawson Creek, Chetwynd or Fort St. John, depending on capacity and availability.
Norbury said the arrangement has created stress for residents and has eroded confidence in access to local health care.
“We need to continue to come together as a community, show Northern Health that we’re not complacent, we’re not okay with this, and they need to give us access to an emergency room in Tumbler Ridge,” he said.
Among the concerns raised by organizers are winter driving conditions and the challenges patients face when travelling long distances for emergency treatment.
Norbury said residents have shared stories of having to seek care in neighbouring communities, sometimes only to encounter service disruptions or diversions there.
Listening to Front-line Workers
Norbury said local doctors, nurses and other health-care workers have proposed solutions to improve emergency care in Tumbler Ridge, but he believes those recommendations are not being acted on by decision-makers at Northern Health.
“The common trend that I’m hearing from our health-care professionals, our doctors, our nurses, our X-ray lab, is that they are bringing forward solutions. They want to help, and they’re being ignored,” said Norbury
Norbury argues that front-line medical professionals should have a greater voice in health-care planning.
“Our health-care system should be focused on doctors and nurses, the people trained in health care. We should be listening to the professionals on the front lines and acting on the solutions they’re bringing forward,” added Norbury
The rally comes as the community continues to face physician shortages. Norbury said Tumbler Ridge recently lost one of its doctors and now has one full-time physician supported by locum coverage.
While he acknowledged additional mental health and support services have been brought to the community following February’s mass shooting tragedy, Norbury said residents continue to advocate for long-term commitments to health-care services and the restoration of full emergency room coverage.
“The outcome ultimately is 24/7 emergency room coverage,” he said. “We want to advocate for our health-care professionals.”
The rally is open to the public.