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Another ER closure at SOGH

The hospital’s emergency department is set to close overnight on Sunday
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Protest organizer Marilyn Mulldoon and her husband Daniel Wong hold up signs at the Gyro Park bandshell in Osoyoos, following a rally to advocate for more health coverage in the South Okanagan in June. Dustin Godfrey/Western News file photo

Oliver’s South Okanagan General Hospital emergency room will be closing once again Sunday evening, according to a release from Interior Health.

The closure, slated for 3 p.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday, is due to a shortage of physicians able to cover the emergency department, according to IH.

“Interior Health regrets this interruption to our normal emergency department services,” the news release said.

IH advises residents call 911 in the case of an emergency, or visit the Penticton Regional Hospital.

HealthLink B.C. can be reached at 8-1-1 24 hours for those unsure whether they need to go to emergency.

Related: Small group rallies for better health coverage in South Okanagan

“Interior Health has been working closely with our physician group to secure coverage for this time, but so far we have been unsuccessful,” the release says. “If we are able to secure coverage by end of day, we will inform the public. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

This isn’t the first time this summer that the ER closed at SOGH. In mid-June, the hospital closed overnight, spurring some protests among local residents fed up with ER closures.

Only two weeks prior to that, the ER was set to close overnight, but was saved at the last minute by doctors pulling extra hours.

At the rally in Osoyoos, following the mid-June closure, local residents expressed concerns that a few doctors were working too much to keep the hospital from closing.