From Saturday, March 14 to Tuesday, March 31, the Emergency Department at Mission Memorial Hospital will temporarily operate from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., to ensure the community has safe, consistent access to emergency care aligned with available staffing.

We will continue to make every effort to prevent further service adaptations. If any future adaptations are required, we will communicate them to the community in advance.

We know how important access to emergency care is. This temporary adjustment to Emergency Department hours allows us to focus on providing safe, reliable care for the community while our recruitment efforts continue. Our priority remains ensuring patients and families receive the care they need, safely and responsibly.

This is a temporary change reflecting national, systemic pressures, and is impacted by spring break, when it becomes more difficult to cover scheduling gaps. Several physician candidates are currently moving through the hiring process at Mission Memorial Hospital and are expected to help improve coverage in the coming months.

“This change will help ensure the community knows when and where emergency services are available as we continue our work to stabilize emergency physician coverage,” said Dr. Paul Theron, site medical director, Mission Memorial Hospital. “Having consistent and plannable hours allows us to provide reliable and safe, quality care to our patients while better supporting our hardworking emergency team. We thank the community for its patience and understanding us we work toward a long-term, sustainable solution.”

Emergency care remains available to people in Mission and surrounding areas at all times. Outside of Emergency Department operating hours, people experiencing a medical emergency should call 9-1-1. Paramedics will assess patients and transport them to the most appropriate emergency department for their needs. For non-life-threatening concerns, residents can access recently expanded Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) services in the community.

After 5:00 p.m., emergency-trained nurses will continue to be on site and available to support walk-in patients needing basic care, assist with re-direction of care, and/or transfer patients with urgent needs to a neighbouring hospital.

“The level of communication and collaboration between the city, Fraser Health and the Ministry of Health has been remarkable as we try to work through the staffing challenges at our hospital,” said Mayor Paul Horn, City of Mission. “We have witnessed the extraordinary efforts being taken to cover shifts. Like everybody in our community, we hope to see our emergency room working at full capacity, but we recognize it will take some time for the investments in our hospital and recruiting to result in permanent staffing improvements. In the meantime, we are grateful that Fraser Health is doing everything it can to keep the hospital open as much as possible and to give people alternatives such as urgent care.”

As our recruitment efforts continue, construction is now underway to expand and modernize the Emergency Department, improving care spaces, workflow and the overall patient experience.

These upgrades give staff and medical staff better facilities and modern equipment, helping Fraser Health attract and retain staff and medical staff by creating a better-equipped, more supportive place to provide care. By bringing the emergency department up to today’s standards, Mission becomes a more appealing place for emergency physicians to work at every stage of their careers.