VICTORIA — The medical director of a health centre in Port Hardy, B.C., is calling for the reopening of the community's overnight emergency room that has been shut for 31 months, saying the community has plenty of doctors.
Dr. Alex Nataros of the North Island Community Health Centre said he cannot understand why the ER at Port Hardy Hospital is still closed at night when the town has "lots of physicians for a town of 4,000 people."
He said there are at least eight doctors in the town, and all have told him they would be willing to work in the ER, which he said had three or four doctors before the closure.
"I don't understand why this has happened, when we have enough doctors, that we are unable to have a functioning emergency room," he said.
"It's a threat to the over 5,000 patients that we look after at the North Island Community Health Centre, and it's a crisis."
Located at the northern tip of Vancouver Island, Port Hardy itself has a population of around 4,000 people.
The area also include three First Nations communities. Port McNeill, located south of Port Hardy, has been providing overnight ER services for residents of Port Hardy.
Island Health said in an emailed statement that it was still trying to recruit for the ER and it remains committed to resuming 24-hour services.
But it added that "physician coverage is not the only limiting factor," pointing to the need for ER-certified nurses and laboratory staff too.
Dr. Michelle Weizel, Island Health's acting vice-president for medicine, quality, research, and acting chief medical officer, said Nataros "would be aware an emergency department requires more than physicians to operate 24-7," adding that Island Health continues to build on its recruiting work.
Weizel added that all doctors registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons have the ability to apply for privileges to work in Island Health facilities. "We very much appreciate the physicians locally who have chosen to work in the emergency department at Port Hardy hospital."
Nataros said he was concerned the failure to recruit doctors for the ER is because Island Health is penalizing Port Hardy for comments he made in February 2023 that called for the resignation of Island Health's chief medical health officer, Bill Williams.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2025.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
