An Island hospital was forced to close its emergency department over the weekend due to a staffing shortage.

An Island hospital was forced to close its emergency department over the weekend due to a staffing shortage.

The ER at Port McNeil Hospital closed at 3pm on Saturday and re-opened last night.

Other inpatient services at the hospital were not affected by the closure. In a news release, Island Health said it realized it was not an ideal situation and apologized to the community for the disruption.

The ER at Port McNeil also closed in early June for the same reason - a nursing staff shortage. At the time, Island Health warned of future closures as well.