Nuu-chah-nulth leaders frustrated, call for immediate measures amid West Coast General ICU closure

The Alberni Valley’s First Nation leaders are “extremely concerned, sad, frustrated and disappointed” by the temporary closure of West Coast General’s ICU, and are calling for measures to immediately restore intensive care at the hospital.

On Nov. 20 the three-bed intensive care unit closed for an indeterminate period of time, after leading physicians at the hospital decided that this measure was necessary due to an ongoing staffing shortage. For the time being, patients requiring life-support from the ICU will be transported by ambulance or helicopter to another health facility – which in most cases will be the Nanaimo Regional Hospital, according to Island Health. The Nanaimo hospital’s ICU has a capacity 10 times that of the West Coast General unit. 

“[I]f there are not enough resources to ensure proper staffing, equipment and other requirements to keep an ICU open at a hospital, then emergency measures must be taken by the Ministry of Health and the Province of British Columbia,” reads a joint press release from the Hupacasath First Nation, Tseshaht First Nation and the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. “Additional stress and pressure on WCGH and other facilities such as Nanaimo General Hospital will only result in making things worse.”

The Nuu-chah-nulth leaders also criticized Island Health’s means of communicating the ICU closure. The health authority’s initial Nov. 19 press release doesn’t mention the closure until halfway through the document, calling it “temporary service adjustments” after first listing past initiatives to improve services at West Coast General.

“Yesterday’s statement from Island Health lacks humility and accountability,” stated the joint Nuu-chah-nulth release. “Comments such as, ‘This temporary change is not expected to impact the quality of patient care at WCGH’ are unacceptable when we know people’s health will be seriously impacted by these bed closures; not if, but when. Taking ownership and responsibility are key values and principles our people take very seriously.”

On Friday, the day after the ICU closure, Minister of Health Josie Osborne met with leaders from Hupacasath, Tseshaht, the NTC, the City of Port Alberni and the regional district. Osborne, who is also the MLA elected to represent the region, called this “a productive and solutions-focused conversation”.

“I felt there was strong agreement on taking an ‘all hands-on-deck’ approach to improving communication, collaborating with Island Health, and working together on recruitment and retention for the Alberni Valley – not just for the West Coast General Hospital but also community-based family doctors and other community-based healthcare professionals.”

How to get more medical professionals working in the Alberni Valley remains an issue, where there are 642 residents for each of the 41 family doctors listed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. As of Nov. 24 Island Health had listed 60 job openings in the West Coast General Hospital alone.

“As Nuu-chah-nulth we must try to remain optimistic, that our MLA and Minister of Health Josie Osborne will do everything in her power to fix this serious situation that may impact the health and well-being of people on the West Coast,” said NTC President cloy-e-iis, Judith Sayers.

“We also want to remind everyone that local nurses, doctors and staff are not to blame for this closure,” added Tseshaht Chief Councillor waamiiš, Ken Watts, in the press release. “Let these moments of frustration help us unite as human beings and advocate and lobby for everyone who deserves proper care.”