Vancouver IslandIsland Health says patients who need hospital treatment — but not emergency or specialist care — and don’t have a family doctor attached to the hospital will be temporarily diverted elsewhere due to an ongoing staff shortage. Health minister says measure is temporary and will affect 2 to 3 patients a day Kathryn Marlow · CBC News · Posted: Dec 12, 2025 4:40 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Island Health says certain patients will be diverted from West Coast General Hospital in Port Alberni, B.C., due to staff shortages. (Google Maps)Island Health has added another category of patient to the list of those that won’t be admitted to West Coast General Hospital, in Port Alberni, B.C., amid an ongoing staff shortage.It says patients who need hospital treatment — but not emergency or specialist care — and don’t have a family doctor attached to the hospital will be diverted to other island hospitals instead. That could include a person with pneumonia who needs oxygen and doesn’t have a family doctor who can care for them while they’re in the hospital, for example. Normally such patients are treated by hospitalists — physicians who work in hospitals to give general care to patients — but West Coast General currently has a shortage of them. The change is described as a temporary measure, but no end date has been provided. Read more stories from Vancouver IslandIsland Health stresses that the hospital’s emergency room remains open 24/7, and patients should not hesitate to call 911 or visit the hospital.Last month, Island Health indefinitely closed the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) due to a shortage of specially trained doctors and nurses.WATCH | The ICU at West Coast General was recently closed:ICU in Port Alberni, B.C., temporarily closed due to staffing shortageAn intensive care unit that serves all of Vancouver Island’s west coast is closed because of a staffing shortage. The temporary closure of the three ICU beds at West Coast General Hospital has many in the community of Port Alberni worried. As Maryse Zeidler reports, Island Health says the ICU will reopen as soon as more staff are brought on.According to B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne, who is also the region’s MLA, West Coast General serves 35,000 to 40,000 people in the Alberni Valley and west coast of Vancouver island. “It’s a really vital, small, but important hospital in the region,” Osborne told CBC’s All Points West.Osborne said the new change, related to hospitalists, will likely have an impact on two to three patients a day, who will be sent to hospitals such as Nanaimo Regional General Hospital or North Island Hospital in Comox, depending on their capacity on the particular day. LISTEN | Tseshaht First Nation chief councillor on what the closure means for his community:All Points West9:51Community works to address impacts of indefinite ICU closure in Port AlberniThe West Coast General Hospital ICU remains indefinitely closed. Ken Watts, the elected chief councillor of the Tseshaht First Nation shares what the closure means for the surrounding community.Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is a 78-kilometre drive from West Coast General, along highways 4 and 19, while North Island Hospital in Comox is a 107-kilometre drive away along the same routes.Brennan Day, B.C.’s Opposition critic for rural health and senior’s health, and the MLA for Courtenay-Comox, said Highway 4 is not always reliable. A photo shows rocks and trees that fell on Highway 4 on Dec. 26, 2023, closing the highway and blocking Port Alberni and western Vancouver Island from the rest of the island for most of the day. (B.C. Ministry of Transportation)It’s the highway that was closed for part of the summer in 2023 due to wildfire damage. There are still occasional closures due to bad weather or scheduled construction — including one planned for six hours on Dec. 17. Day told CBC’s All Points West he’s also concerned about the use of the word “temporary” to describe a change with no end date. “We’ve heard that language used to describe ER closures that went from temporary to permanent,” said Day.Residents in Port Hardy, B.C., rally against nearly 3-year overnight closure of ERHe argues Island Health and the provincial government need to work harder to improve working conditions in hospitals, to both attract and retain staff. Dr. Ben Williams, a vice-president at Island Health who also works as a locum at West Coast General, told CBC’s On the Island the health authority is working hard to recruit new physicians, and that the problem will be resolved “as soon as possible.” He added that he was working in the hospital this week and saw staff members working hard to make sure patients didn’t need to be diverted. ABOUT THE AUTHORKathryn Marlow is a reporter for CBC Victoria, and the host/producer of the podcast This is Vancouver Island. She covers stories in greater Victoria, and across the whole Vancouver Island region. You can reach her at kathryn.marlow@cbc.ca.
More patients to be diverted from Port Alberni hospital amid staff shortage
