Search News

Lawsuit accuses IH, Kamloops doctors of negligence in alleged medical overdose case

Two doctors and Interior Health are being sued by the family of a Kamloops-area woman who died in 2022 at Royal Inland Hospital, accused of causing a...

Pregnant Kamloops women again being told they may have to travel elsewhere for care

Pregnant Kamloops women are once again being told they may have to travel to Salmon Arm, Vernon or Kelowna for prenatal care. Doctor retirements and...

Residents from Ashcroft, 100 Mile House among those receiving B.C.'s Medal of Good Citizenship

Two women from 100 Mile House and Ashcroft are being recognized by the province for their dedication to community service. On Wednesday, the B.C....

Prince George helicopter crash victim remembered as caring boss, devoted family man

Jerry Edwards poured his adventurous spirit, his love of the outdoors and his compassion for co-workers into his job as a self-employed forestry...

One day in jail for rookie train-hopper injured while riding rails

A rookie train-hopper who was injured while riding the rails west of Kamloops says he’ll never do it again. Darin Wayne Friesen, 34, was...

Staffing shortages forces closure of Nicola Valley Hospital's emergency department

Merritt residents are once again without an emergency department Sunday due to staffing shortages. Interior Health announced late Saturday that Nicola...

Hospital board approves $1.9M for two additional operating rooms at RIH

After much debate, Thompson Regional Hospital District directors adopted a bylaw containing Interior Health's major capital funding requests for...

Healthcare workers hired for positions in Ashcroft, Lytton, IH says

Interior Health says nearly all staff positions have been filled at Ashcroft’s Urgent and Primary Care Centre, a new facility operating inside...

Healthcare story of the year: system and burned out staff stretched to the limit

Castanet is revisiting the top stories of an eventful 2022. Today, for our healthcare story of the year, we look at the massive challenge facing the...

Staffing limitations force closure of Ashcroft Urgent and Primary Care Centre

The Ashcroft Urgent and Primary Care Centre will see a temporary change in hours this weekend due to staffing limitations, Interior Health says....

Campaigns in crisis mode as B.C. mayors pivot from parks and potholes to big picture

When Merlin Blackwell ran for mayor four years ago in the small community of Clearwater in British Columbia's North Thompson River valley, the...

'Enhancing access;' Ashcroft Hospital is now an urgent primary care centre

A new urgent and primary care centre has opened in Ashcroft, inside the building formerly known as the Ashcroft Hospital and Community Healthcare...

Kamloops councillor says meeting on rural healthcare crisis met with positive response from province

A Kamloops councillor says a meeting between municipal leaders and the provincial minister of health to discuss rural healthcare closures and health...

ER closures this weekend in Ashcroft, Clearwater

UPDATE 7 p.m. The emergency department at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital will be closed yet again on Saturday night. The ER will be closed from 6 p.m....

BC Nurses' Union discusses staffing shortage with members

Representatives of the BC Nurses' Union are in Cranbrook Thursday discussing staffing shortages at East Kootenay Regional Hospital. The region is...

BC Liberals push 30-day action plan for doctor shortage

The B.C. Liberal Caucus is, for the second time, calling for a 30-day action plan to “help tackle the primary care crisis” in British...

'A lot of angst': Mapping B.C.'s emergency department closures of 2022

As the pandemic and family doctor shortage overwhelms the province, many doctors and nurses in rural emergency departments (ED) are unable to keep...

Clearwater and Ashcroft emergency departments closed Friday night, due to staffing shortages

UPDATE: 4:24 p.m. The Ashcroft Emergency Department will be closed Friday night due to limited staffing. According to a news release from Interior...

Critics warn of rural health care 'collapse' as ERs temporarily close on North Island

Back-to-back closures of emergency rooms on North Vancouver Island last weekend are another example of the overall erosion of the primary care system...

Emergency Department in Oliver is closed Sunday afternoon

Yet another Interior emergency department is closed this weekend due to staffing issues. Sunday, Interior Health announced the emergency department at...

Interior Health announces more emergency room closures

More hospital emergency department closures in B.C. Interior Interior Health has announced the Ashcroft emergency department will be closed this...

Interior Health seeking clinical staff to fill in at local care homes

The healthcare staffing shortage across Interior Health is also impacting Central Okanagan long-term care homes. In a June 17 internal memo to all...

City of Kamloops to explore options for physician incentive program

The City of Kamloops will be looking at ways it could attract more family doctors to the area after council heard a presentation laying out possible...

Emergency department in Ashcroft closed for weekend

Interior Health has announced the emergency department at the Ashcroft Hospital and Community Health Care Centre will be closed this weekend. The...

IH ramping up elective surgeries after hundreds postponed

After more than a month of postponements, “non-urgent” surgeries in B.C.'s Interior will begin ramping back up next week, while other...

Interior Health makes temporary cuts in rural locations due to staffing shortage

Omicron-related staffing challenges have forced Interior Health to make a number of temporary service cuts, as healthcare workers call in sick at...

Ashcroft emergency department temporary closure Sunday night

The Ashcroft Hospital and Community Health Care Centre has closed the emergency department Sunday night due to limited staffing availability. The...

Ashcroft emergency department closed until Sunday due to staffing issue

The emergency department at Ashcroft Hospital and Community Health Care Centre is closed this weekend due to limited staff availability. According to...

Ashcroft hospital closes emergency department overnight Saturday and Sunday

Interior Health is advising residents of a temporary change to the emergency department hours at the Ashcroft and Community Health Care Centre this...

Ashcroft Hospital's emergency department closed this weekend due to staffing shortage, IH says

Those looking for overnight emergency medical care in the Ashcroft area will be out of luck this weekend. According to Interior Health, the emergency...

IH moves patients, long-term care residents from Merritt facilities

UPDATE: 5:01 p.m. With the Coldwater River surging, Interior Health is moving hospital patients and long-term care facility residents out of Merritt...

Stone, Milobar call for government action to address RIH staffing shortfalls

As staffing shortfalls and pandemic problems impact operations and strain healthcare workers at Royal Inland Hospital, a pair of Kamloops MLAs are...

Weekend closures at Ashcroft emergency department due to staffing issues, IH says

The emergency department at Ashcroft Hospital will be closed for part of this weekend due to staffing shortages, Interior Health says. According to a...

Federal Liberal announce candidate for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo

The Liberal Party of Canada has selected its candidate in the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding. George Petel, a lawyer, has been acclaimed to run for...

Logan Lake, Ashcroft residents warned of looming shortage of X-ray technologists

Residents in two Kamloops-area communities are being told they may have to travel further for X-rays in the coming months due to staffing shortages....

Ashcroft Hospital's emergency department closed this weekend due to staffing shortage, IH says

The emergency department at Ashcroft Hospital will be closed this weekend due to staffing shortages, Interior Health says. According to a bulletin...

Staffing limitations force overnight closures of emergency room in Ashcroft, IH says

The emergency room at Ashcroft Hospital will close a number of times this weekend due to staffing limitations, Interior Health says. In a news release...

Kamloops Mounties surround Ashcroft apartment building, arrest man after threats to police

An Ashcroft man was arrested Wednesday night after allegedly threatening police. Kamloops Mounties were called just before 10 p.m.with “a threat...

BC NDP promise Ashcroft Hospital will become 24/7 if re-elected

John Horgan has promised to make the Ashcroft Hospital a 24/7 operation if re-elected. The hospital often closes due to a lack of staff and shuts down...

Meet your candidate: Aaron Sumexheltza, running for the BC NDP in Fraser-Nicola

As part of Castanet's 2020 election coverage, candidates in Kamloops-South Thompson, Kamloops-North Thompson and Fraser-Nicola were emailed a...