Tumbler Ridge ER closes again as residents press for round-the-clock service

Tumbler Ridge residents rallied Sept. 26 over the lack of 24/7 emergency care as the local emergency room remained closed during the event. Staffing challenges triggered another daytime closure on Sept. 30, the second in less than a week.

Tumbler Ridge, B.C., residents rallied Sept. 26 for round-the-clock emergency room service while the local emergency room was closed. Dozens attended, holding signs reading “Rural lives matter” and “TR needs nights.” The latest reported shutdown came Sept. 30, when staffing challenges closed Tumbler Ridge Health Centre from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., the second closure in less than a week.

“For one year, we have been without emergency care after 7pm,” Tumbler Ridge councillor Chris Norbury told the crowd at Saturday’s rally. The emergency room was unavailable from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both days of the previous weekend. In September, it was closed in the evenings and placed on diversion during daytime hours throughout the month, including Sept. 11.

Mayor Darryl Krakowka questioned Northern Health’s assurances to the community, referring to the province’s note that 24/7 virtual health care is coming to Tumbler Ridge in 2027. “I don’t believe anything Northern Health has told this community,” he said at the rally.

The community held a rally for the same purpose in September 2025. Around that time, a patient died in an ambulance travelling from Tumbler Ridge to Dawson Creek after Northern Health reduced on-call emergency room coverage in Tumbler Ridge to limited hours because of a physician shortage and staff issues. Northern Health said it would examine the circumstances; no finding has established that the reduced coverage caused the patient’s death.

In February, Tumbler Ridge faced one of the worst mass-casualty shootings in Canadian history. The emergency room was open and fully staffed at the time, and was tested by the incident. Health services were expanded after the shooting. By June 2026, the emergency room was operating daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Two full-time physician positions are currently posted. Two nurse practitioner positions have also been established through the area’s South Peace Primary Care Network. The staffing challenges and repeated closures continue as residents seek emergency care beyond the hours the centre has been operating.

Based on reporting by Edmonton Journal.