North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney stood in the House of Commons last week, taking the federal government to task over the lack of emergency health care services in the area.

Blaney says hospital emergency rooms in Port Hardy, Alert Bay and Port McNeill have been closing repeatedly for the past few months, because there isn’t enough staff to keep them open.

Since August, Island Health has been announcing closures of emergency departments in North Island due to limited staffing availability, primarily nursing coverage.

According to the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), 45 percent of nurses have been clinically diagnosed with burnout and there is no plan in place to stabilize the workforce.

In addition to calling for an increase to federal health care transfers, New Democrats have advocated for the federal government to address Canada’s ongoing health-care system issues, such as staffing shortages and emergency room closures in hospitals, by reducing red tape for internationally trained health-care workers to become qualified in Canada and hiring at least 50,000 long-term care workers.

Blaney says she and the NDP will keep pressuring the federal government until it acts.