What is causing the staffing crisis at Mission Memorial Hospital?

The hospital's emergency department has faced staffing shortages, leading to repeated overnight closures, due to a combination of factors including a flood in 2024 that damaged the ER and made it less safe for doctors, as well as difficulties in attracting and retaining physicians in the growing community.

How is the Mission community responding to the ER closures at Mission Memorial Hospital?

Dozens of local residents, healthcare workers, and leaders have rallied outside the hospital to demand the Fraser Health Authority take immediate action to prevent further overnight ER closures and increase staffing support.

What is the City of Mission doing to address the healthcare staffing challenges?

The City of Mission is advancing a proposed health and wellness district around the hospital, which would serve as a hub for housing, services, and accommodations for healthcare workers and medical trainees, in an effort to make Mission a more attractive place for doctors to come and work.

Home / Health / Residents Rally to Save Mission Memorial Hospital's Emergency Department

Residents Rally to Save Mission Memorial Hospital's Emergency Department

16 Nov

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Summary

Mission Memorial Hospital faces repeated overnight ER closures due to doctor shortages
Local residents, healthcare workers, and leaders protest the closures
Hospital plans $18 million renovation to expand ER, but staffing remains a major concern

As of November 16th, 2025, Mission Memorial Hospital in British Columbia has been grappling with a persistent staffing crisis that has led to repeated overnight closures of its emergency department. In the past year, the ER has closed to new patients between 5 PM and 8 AM on six occasions due to a lack of available doctors.

This situation has alarmed the local community, with dozens of residents, healthcare workers, and leaders rallying outside the hospital on a recent Saturday to demand immediate action from the Fraser Health Authority. Carrying signs that read "Mission Matters" and "Health Care Matters," the demonstrators called for increased staffing support, the restoration of full-time ER service, and greater transparency around the closures.

Mission's medical director, Dr. Paul Theron, attributes the problem to a combination of factors, including the hospital's emergency department still recovering from serious damage caused by a flood in January 2024. This led to an exodus of some permanent physician staff who felt the temporary ER space was not safe. While an $18 million renovation project is underway to expand the ER from 27 to 41 care spaces, Theron says staffing remains a major concern as the community's population grows quickly.