The South Okanagan General Hospital's emergency department is closing for 18 hours, from 1 p.m. on Sept. 1 to 7 a.m. on Sept. 2.
Interior Health directed people who need emergency care to travel to the Penticton Regional Hospital instead.
The rest of the Oliver hospital's services are unaffected.
"People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility," IH said in its announcement.
Anyone who is unsure whether they need to go to the emergency department, and aren't suffering life-threatening symptoms as described by IH, can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
IH did not provide a reason for the shutdown, however, the Oliver facility has had repeated issues with staffing shortages over the last two years.
