Island Health is reducing service in yet another small community on Vancouver Island because of ongoing staff shortages.
This time, the outpatient laboratory in Ucluelet is affected.
Island Health says that to ensure reliable and consistent inpatient and outpatient lab service at Tofino General Hospital, the Ucluelet outpatient lab is being temporarily closed.
This temporary measure will enable Island Health to consolidate staff to support necessary services at the hospital in Tofino.
Ucluelet residents requiring tests will have to go to Tofino hospital, where laboratory hours are being extended.
Island Health says, like all health authorities in BC and Canada, it continues to experience a shortage of qualified medical lab support staff.
This past weekend, Island Health was forced to impose temporary closures of the emergency departments at the Port McNeil and Port Hardy hospitals because of low staffing levels.
The emergency department at Port McNeil Hospital was closed throughout the day on Saturday and the emergency department at Port Hardy Hospital was closed from Saturday evening until Sunday morning.
