Concerns over level of Emergency Service at Masset Hospital bring statements from Northern Health, MLA Jennifer Rice

Another concerning situation related to Health Care has become public, this one on Haida Gwaii with the level of Emergency Department care at Masset Hospital making for a flurry of statements in recent days from health officials with Northern Health and the MLA for the North Coast Jennifer Rice.

The issue gained some wide exposure following a radio interview with Daybreak North, with host Carolina de Rye exploring the concerns of Island residents as part of a February 2nd feature.

The current situation facing Masset residents is related to a struggle to retain medical staff for the Masset hospital which serves a number of communities on the northern end of the Island. 

Daybreak North spoke to both Masset Mayor Sheri Disney and locum Doctor Matthew Menard who works at the Masset facility, both of whom noted of the dire consequences for patients should a closure of the hospital's emergency department. 

Much of the concern is related to a lack of leadership at the administration of the site which it was stated  has had a significant impact on the morale of those who work at the hospital; as well as a lack of information sharing from Northern health, the latter a topic that seems constant for many communities within their jurisdiction.

The story seems to have given cause for the first public comments on the concerns from Northern Health which released a statement on February 3rd, noting how it was working closely with the Ministry of Health and listening to community leaders on Haida Gwaii, to improve and stabilize health care staffing and patient access to services in Masset, Old Massett and surrounding communities. 

The Full Northern Health Statement can be reviewed here. 

Also speaking to the concerns of the community was North Coast MLA Rice who released a statement in the early evening of February 3rd.

The Masset concerns make for the second time in the last week that Northern Health has been in the media spotlight over issues related to hospital care in the Northwest.

As we outlined last week, the Vancouver Sun did some digging into an incident from the fall of 2021 at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital which saw a patient die after an altercation with another patient, the story also raised other areas of concern when it comes to violence at the hospital.

Neither Northern Health or MLA Rice spoke to that Sun story last week, Northern Health providing only a brief statement for the Vancouver newspaper.

For the MLA the two stories come out as she takes to work with her new duties as the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health, a file  that clearly has a wide range of issues that require her attention with a bit of urgency.

Many of those concerns, will be something she will be aware of from her experiences on health care in Prince Rupert and the perceptions in this community when it comes to information from Northern Health and plans for services in this area.

More notes related to Health Care in the Northwest can be explored through our archive pages.