Temporary emergency department closure at Mission hospital

The emergency department at Mission Memorial Hospital will be temporarily closed for 15 hours starting Sunday at 5 p.m.

Fraser Health says that the closure is necessary because of physician staffing challenges.

The temporary service interruption will ensure that all patients already in the emergency department can be seen by a physician before 11:00 p.m., the health authority explains.

However, emergency-trained nurses will remain onsite to provide basic care for patients.

They will also handle potential redirection or transfer patients to neighbouring hospitals.

The closure will not affect other services at the hospital.

Fraser Health asks people with non-urgent health needs to familiarize themselves with non-emergency services, as other ERs may experience longer wait times as a result of the temporary closure. 

“We are actively working to address physician staffing gaps as they arise to maintain service continuity,” the health authority said in a written statement.

Just last month, the hospital’s emergency department experienced a weeklong overnight closure in which the ER only accepted patients between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

2025 saw an increase in ER closures in the Lower Mainland, with the union representing ambulance paramedics saying that there were around 250 temporary closures in the previous year.

A Delta city council motion to declare a public health emergency in response to the closures was denied in October last year.