That\u2019s an 86 per cent increase from 2018-19, when 76,157 patients did the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese aren\u2019t just numbers, they\u2019re lives,\u201d said Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay-Comox<\/a>, in a news release<\/a>, who called the figures a \u201cdamning indictment\u201d of how the province has handled emergency care.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s 141,961 people who turned to the system in a moment of crisis and were turned away by a government that simply isn\u2019t listening,\u201d said Day.<\/p>\n The epicentre of the crisis appears to be on Vancouver Island.<\/p>\n According to the data released, in 2024-25, 29,997 patients in the Island Health region walked out of an emergency room before seeing a doctor, a 160 per cent increase from six years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s nearly 30,000 people \u2014 someone\u2019s parent, child, neighbour, or friend \u2014 who walked into an Island Health ER and left empty-handed,\u201d said Day in the news release.<\/p>\n \u201cIsland Health is leading the province in failure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe see it every day,\u201d says Comox doctor<\/p>\n Dr. Adam Thompson<\/a>, president-elect for Doctors of BC<\/a> and a Courtenay-based family physician, said the walkout figures don\u2019t surprise him, because he sees the fallout every day.<\/p>\n \u201cThese figures are certainly concerning,\u201d he told Daily Hive. \u201cI get reports every day from the ER that a patient has left without being seen. That\u2019s someone who came in for help, and didn\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n Margarita Young\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Thompson said the problems aren\u2019t just about long ER waits, they\u2019re about a health-care system that\u2019s \u201cstretched too thin.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Thompson, many hospitals don\u2019t have enough staff or space, patients are stuck waiting months to see specialists, and even when someone needs to be admitted, there often isn\u2019t a hospital bed available.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have enough ER doctors or nurses. Patients stuck on long waitlists are getting sicker. And there\u2019s often no space to admit them upstairs, so they stay in the ER and back everything up.\u201d<\/p>\n Province says patients are prioritized by urgency<\/p>\n In a statement to Daily Hive, the B.C. Ministry of Health said emergency departments are triage-based, and the sickest patients are always treated first.<\/p>\n \u201cPatients are never turned away from the ED,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf someone\u2019s condition changes while in the waiting room, they should tell the triage nurse immediately, and they may be reprioritized.\u201d<\/p>\n The ministry also noted that most walkouts involve lower-acuity patients, who may choose to leave if their condition improves or if they feel the wait isn\u2019t worth it.<\/p>\n Still, staff are expected to reassess those patients before they go.<\/p>\n According to the Ministry, patients are assessed using the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS).<\/p>\n Those classified as CTAS 1 or 2, resuscitation and emergent, are seen immediately. Less urgent cases may wait longer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n To help ease confusion, the Province is expanding online tools that show estimated ER wait times.<\/p>\n Island Health now posts times online<\/a>, as do Lower Mainland hospitals<\/a>.<\/p>\n Doctors push for stabilization plan<\/p>\n Dr. Thompson said while the Province has taken steps to recruit staff and expand primary care, it hasn\u2019t addressed the root causes of ER dysfunction.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been calling for a province-wide Emergency Department Stabilization Plan\u2026and we\u2019re still waiting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cRecruitment is part of the solution, but it\u2019s not enough. This is a system issue.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to Daily Hive, the B.C. Ministry of Health<\/a> said it\u2019s working to reduce pressure on hospitals by expanding capacity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand that long waits can be challenging for patients and their families. This is why, in November 2023, the Ministry of Health increased the number of provincially funded acute care beds from 9,202 to 9,929 beds (7.9 per cent increase).\u201d<\/p>\n The ministry also highlighted progress in primary care access: \u201cAlmost 250,000 people were attached to a primary care provider in 2024 alone \u2014 the highest since tracking began.\u201d<\/p>\n Island Health also hired over 800 new nurses last year, according to the Province\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n Despite long waits and rising walkout numbers, Thompson urged British Columbians not to avoid emergency care when it\u2019s truly needed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re sick and think it\u2019s serious, go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll be triaged based on how urgent it is. But also consider if a walk-in clinic, urgent care centre, or even your pharmacist might help first.\u201d<\/p>\n Nurses speak out<\/p>\n Adriane Gear, a registered nurse and president of the BC Nurses\u2019 Union, told Daily Hive the numbers were \u201cheartbreaking, but not surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s sad. It\u2019s unacceptable. But I\u2019m not surprised,\u201d she said while visiting Terrace\u2019s new hospital on a northern tour. \u201cNurses have been warning about this for years. ERs are overrun, and there simply aren\u2019t enough staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Gear said many patients who end up in the ER are dealing with unmanaged chronic conditions like COPD or diabetes, and have no access to primary or longitudinal care.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re on a hamster wheel. People can\u2019t find a family doctor or nurse practitioner, so their condition worsens\u2026 and they end up in crisis in the ER.\u201d<\/p>\n The impact on nurses has been severe.<\/p>\n Gorodenkoff\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve known this was coming. Emergency departments aren\u2019t just short on staff\u2026they\u2019re short on hope,\u201d Gear said. \u201cPeople are burning out, walking away, or breaking down.\u201d<\/p>\n Gear said B.C. has between 5,000 and 6,000 vacant nursing positions, and that many specialized ER nurses are leaving the profession entirely.<\/p>\n \u201cTo work in emergency or ICU, you need extra training,\u201d she said. \u201cThe tragedy is that many of the nurses with those advanced skills are the ones leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n Gear also noted a disturbing rise in violence against frontline workers<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re seeing people at their worst\u2026 they\u2019re scared, they\u2019re in pain, and they\u2019re waiting hours. Some lash out. Some leave,\u201d Gear said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s never an excuse to punch a nurse. But that\u2019s what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n She also emphasized that this crisis didn\u2019t begin with the current government, but that doesn\u2019t make it any less urgent.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s enough blame to go around,\u201d she told Daily Hive. \u201cThis crisis predates this current government. But that doesn\u2019t make the reality less urgent. We\u2019re still 5,000 to 6,000 nurses short in B.C.\u201d<\/p>\n What needs to happen now<\/p>\n Despite the record-breaking number of ER walkouts, health-care leaders say the crisis is fixable, but only if the Province moves beyond patchwork promises and taps into the full spectrum of solutions already at its fingertips.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not in a place where we give up,\u201d said Gear. \u201cNurses have solutions\u2026and we\u2019re ready to be part of the fix.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the most immediate changes, she said, is implementing minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, a model B.C. has committed to but not fully rolled out.<\/p>\n \u201cRatios work,\u201d she said. \u201cThey reduce patient deaths, improve care, and help nurses stay in the profession. The Province already agreed to this. Now they need to act.\u201d<\/p>\n But Gear and others say the Province is also overlooking one of its biggest untapped resources: skilled immigrants.<\/p>\n \u201cWe won\u2019t train our way out of this crisis fast enough,\u201d Gear told Daily Hive.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are internationally educated nurses and doctors in this province right now\u2026 working as Uber drivers or delivering SkipTheDishes\u2026 because we\u2019re not supporting them to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n Tyler Olson\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n While B.C. has made small steps to streamline credentialing, Gear said that\u2019s only half the solution.<\/p>\n \u201cPassing an exam doesn\u2019t prepare you for the chaos of a Canadian ER. These professionals need mentorship, cultural orientation, and time to integrate\u2026 and health authorities need to stop treating them like they\u2019re interchangeable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the talent. We just haven\u2019t built the bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Thompson echoed the need for a systems-wide reset, not just quick recruitment drives.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t fix working conditions\u2026 if nurses and doctors keep burning out\u2026 then nothing changes,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about hiring one new nurse. It\u2019s about keeping the 10 who are about to quit.\u201d<\/p>\n Both leaders say the government has no excuse left to delay.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we need to hold our decision makers, our government, our health authorities, accountable to decisions that they\u2019re making,\u201d said Gear.<\/p>\n Have you walked out of an ER without care? Let us know in the comments below or email [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> if you\u2019d like to share your story with us.<\/p>\n![\"ER](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_1659162667.jpg\")
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