Interior Health (IH) says a doctor shortage is closing Oliver hospital's emergency room, a department plagued with service interruptions since last year.

Emergency services will be unavailable at the South Okanagan General Hospital from 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10.

All other services will continue as normal and patients can access care at the Penticton Regional Hospital during this time, IH said.

Oliver's emergency department was forced to close six different times in July, due to a lack of doctors.

Emergency services have been made unavailable several times through the first half of 2024. That follows a stretch last fall where the room was closed more than a dozen times.

People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility, IH added.