The emergency department at the Nicola Valley Hospital in Merritt will be closed for 24-hours this Thanksgiving long weekend.

Interior Health says this closure – the fifteenth this year – will be in effect from 8 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, to 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 9, due to lack of doctors.

“Patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops,” Interior Health said. “During this time, all other inpatient services will continue as normal at Nicola Valley Hospital.”

The emergency room in Merritt is usually open 24/7. All of its closures this year have been due to a lack of staff – either doctors or nurses – with five occurring just last month.

Merritt Mayor Michael Goetz has floated the idea of trying to withhold tax revenue to make up for the lack of service this year.

“If we’re not able to, then I still need to have the government explain to me why its okay to expect payment for an item that was never given to the people that are paying for it,” Goetz told Radio NL last month.

“[The province is] getting this money but we’re not getting what we paid for so we should automatically be reimbursed.”

Interior Health told Radio NL it is working on several recruitment strategies in Merritt.

Kathy Doull, Executive Director of Clinical Operations for Interior Health West, said two newly hired nurses have already started working in Merritt as of a couple of weeks ago, with another set to arrive sometime this month.

“We know these situations are frustrating and challenging for everyone, and the service interruptions are concerning for all of us,” Doull said.

“The decision to divert services is never taken lightly, and closing the ER is always a last resort.”