Interior Health, the Village of Ashcroft, and the Ashcroft Wellness and Health Action Coalition (WHAC) continue to work together to find a long-term solution to the physician shortage in the community.
The Ashcroft Hospital and Health Centre Emergency Department will remain open most weekends, which is Friday at 6:00 pm to Monday at 8:00 am. There had been some concern that the Emergency Department would close over the summer months due to the physician shortage. At this time, Interior Health has been successful in obtaining locum physician coverage for the majority of the weekends throughout the summer, and is working to find coverage for the few that remain. We will notify residents in advance of any changes to ED coverage and/or hours.
It remains the goal to recruit additional physicians to Ashcroft in an effort to provide reliable and long-term primary and emergency care services. Recently, Interior Health has been in discussion with physicians interested in working in the region through the Practice Ready Assessment pilot program. This program recruits internationally-educated physicians who have completed residencies in Family Medicine outside of Canada. This process takes time and the physicians involved still have to complete immigration processes as well as certification requirements through the College of Physicians and Surgeons. These candidates are very promising, and the host communities will be advised if and when recruitment of these physicians is complete.
If you have any questions, please contact Berni Easson at (250) 319-3934.
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