Thank you for receiving this message and questions. I am a resident of Tumbler Ridge who has many concerns that are shared with my fellow citizens regarding the clarity of communication from Northern Health related to reduced ER hours in Tumbler Ridge. I will be sharing this letter with local media, as well as your response once it is received.
Since early September 2025, residents of Tumbler Ridge have faced the implications of reduced ER hours and the associated dangers. We as a community have tried to understand and have asked repeatedly if and how Northern Health is planning to resolve the perilous situation that we in Tumbler Ridge now face.
Tumbler Ridge’s demographics have not changed significantly in recent years, with a coal mine continuing to operate 24/7. Based on this context, I respectfully ask the Board and Northern Health Leadership to answer the twelve questions listed below.
- Do the Northern Health Board (appointed by the Ministry of Health) and Leadership truly appreciate the isolated nature of Tumbler Ridge and the associated challenges? The driving time between Tumbler Ridge and Dawson Creek is an hour and a half drive under ideal conditions in the summer time but can take significantly longer or be completely impossible under adverse winter conditions.
- Is Northern Health aware that for the past 40 years Tumbler Ridge supported a fully functional ER with some of the finest, most timely care in BC? Now that our ER is closed after hours and on weekends, our healthcare team can no longer provide this same standard of care, and some transfers are now potentially not medically necessary.
- Is Northern Health aware of the harm that your decision to eliminate two thirds of ER hours has caused the residents of Tumbler Ridge? An example is the loss of the ‘Golden Hour’ for our residents.
- What steps has Northern Health taken to learn from the previous doctors, nurses and allied health personnel who were successful in providing a high standard of care for Tumbler Ridge residents without any reduction in ER services or diversions for over 30 years?
- Has Northern Health considered the solutions that have been proposed from Tumbler Ridge to restore the ER hours, including virtual care (e.g., VERRa, which has worked elsewhere in the region in the past)? It does not appear that these proposed solutions have been taken seriously as no attempt has been made to implement them.
- Has Northern Health abandoned the idea of bringing back 24/7 ER coverage to Tumbler Ridge, even when full staffing numbers return? Based on the lack of progress, it is the impression of Tumbler Ridge residents that Northern Health is not committed to returning the ER to 24/7 service.
- What is Northern Health’s reasoning for not including Tumbler Ridge’s elected representatives in the decision-making process leading to the cut ER services when Northern Health’s own policies require cooperation between Northern Health and the communities that are served? Tumbler Ridge’s elected officials and the community have made it clear that they do not support the decision to reduce ER services and were not consulted.
- Does Northern Health believe it acceptable for (possibly medically unwarranted) ambulance transfers to occur routinely in adverse road conditions? My understanding is that in December 2025, a visit was planned to Tumbler Ridge by Northern Health Leadership who, rather than drive, elected to fly to Fort St. John before cancelling the visit, apparently due to poor road conditions. If this is correct, it seems to me to represent an inconsistency.
- Does Northern Health truly believe that 911 and ambulance transfer are equivalent to 24/7 ER services? Considering the isolated nature of Tumbler Ridge, the residents of Tumbler Ridge find the Northern Health statements in this regard to be extremely misleading.
- Does Northern Health acknowledge that medically unnecessary transfers may put lives at risk? In a recent example, an ambulance recently left the road and became stuck in the ditch while transferring a patient to Dawson Creek during adverse road conditions.
- In the absence of meaningful and visible collaboration between Northern Health and the community, how can Northern Health justify their statement that the Tumbler Ridge resident’s concerns are being heard? More than four months have now passed since ER care was reduced and little if any progress appears to have been made.
- What prevents Tumbler Ridge doctors from providing after hours and weekend ER care locally when they have covered after hours and weekend ER shifts in neighbouring communities?
The current situation with such heavily reduced ER hours poses a dangerous condition to the residents of Tumbler Ridge. For example, no ER coverage was available in Tumbler Ridge for four consecutive days over Christmas, during which time our residents were forced to contend with needless inconvenience, the potential for more severe illness, and ultimately a higher risk of serious situations developing that could result in catastrophic situations or even needless deaths.
Rather than being far removed from the realities of living in the north, the Northern Health Leadership and Board are well aware of the realities of life in the north. As it is within your power to rectify this situation, I am hopeful that you may fully understand the impacts of your decisions and ask you please to restore 24/7 ER care for our community as soon as possible.
I look forward to hearing from you with clear answers to these questions.
