Over 140,000 patients left B.C. ERs without being seen last year

B.C.’s ER crisis is growing fast.

More people than ever are walking out of British Columbia’s emergency rooms without getting care.

According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) release from the B.C. Ministry of Health: 141,961 people left emergency departments in 2024-25 without being seen by a doctor.

That’s an 86 per cent increase from 2018-19, when 76,157 patients did the same.

“These aren’t just numbers, they’re lives,” said Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay-Comox, in a news release, who called the figures a “damning indictment” of how the province has handled emergency care.

“That’s 141,961 people who turned to the system in a moment of crisis and were turned away by a government that simply isn’t listening,” said Day.

The epicentre of the crisis appears to be on Vancouver Island.

According to the data released, in 2024-25, 29,997 patients in the Island Health region walked out of an emergency room before seeing a doctor, a 160 per cent increase from six years ago.

“That’s nearly 30,000 people — someone’s parent, child, neighbour, or friend — who walked into an Island Health ER and left empty-handed,” said Day in the news release.

“Island Health is leading the province in failure.”

“We see it every day,” says Comox doctor

Dr. Adam Thompson, president-elect for Doctors of BC and a Courtenay-based family physician, said the walkout figures don’t surprise him, because he sees the fallout every day.

“These figures are certainly concerning,” he told Daily Hive. “I get reports every day from the ER that a patient has left without being seen. That’s someone who came in for help, and didn’t get it.”

Thompson said the problems aren’t just about long ER waits, they’re about a health-care system that’s “stretched too thin.”

According to Thompson, many hospitals don’t have enough staff or space, patients are stuck waiting months to see specialists, and even when someone needs to be admitted, there often isn’t a hospital bed available.

“We don’t have enough ER doctors or nurses. Patients stuck on long waitlists are getting sicker. And there’s often no space to admit them upstairs, so they stay in the ER and back everything up.”

Province says patients are prioritized by urgency

In a statement to Daily Hive, the B.C. Ministry of Health said emergency departments are triage-based, and the sickest patients are always treated first.

“Patients are never turned away from the ED,” the ministry said.

“If someone’s condition changes while in the waiting room, they should tell the triage nurse immediately, and they may be reprioritized.”

The ministry also noted that most walkouts involve lower-acuity patients, who may choose to leave if their condition improves or if they feel the wait isn’t worth it.

Still, staff are expected to reassess those patients before they go.

According to the Ministry, patients are assessed using the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS).

Those classified as CTAS 1 or 2, resuscitation and emergent, are seen immediately. Less urgent cases may wait longer.

To help ease confusion, the Province is expanding online tools that show estimated ER wait times.

Island Health now posts times online, as do Lower Mainland hospitals.

Doctors push for stabilization plan

Dr. Thompson said while the Province has taken steps to recruit staff and expand primary care, it hasn’t addressed the root causes of ER dysfunction.

“We’ve been calling for a province-wide Emergency Department Stabilization Plan…and we’re still waiting,” he said.

“Recruitment is part of the solution, but it’s not enough. This is a system issue.”

In a statement to Daily Hive, the B.C. Ministry of Health said it’s working to reduce pressure on hospitals by expanding capacity.

“We understand that long waits can be challenging for patients and their families. This is why, in November 2023, the Ministry of Health increased the number of provincially funded acute care beds from 9,202 to 9,929 beds (7.9 per cent increase).”

The ministry also highlighted progress in primary care access: “Almost 250,000 people were attached to a primary care provider in 2024 alone — the highest since tracking began.”

Island Health also hired over 800 new nurses last year, according to the Province’s statement.

Despite long waits and rising walkout numbers, Thompson urged British Columbians not to avoid emergency care when it’s truly needed.

“If you’re sick and think it’s serious, go,” he said.

“You’ll be triaged based on how urgent it is. But also consider if a walk-in clinic, urgent care centre, or even your pharmacist might help first.”

Nurses speak out

Adriane Gear, a registered nurse and president of the BC Nurses’ Union, told Daily Hive the numbers were “heartbreaking, but not surprising.”

“It’s sad. It’s unacceptable. But I’m not surprised,” she said while visiting Terrace’s new hospital on a northern tour. “Nurses have been warning about this for years. ERs are overrun, and there simply aren’t enough staff.”

Gear said many patients who end up in the ER are dealing with unmanaged chronic conditions like COPD or diabetes, and have no access to primary or longitudinal care.

“We’re on a hamster wheel. People can’t find a family doctor or nurse practitioner, so their condition worsens… and they end up in crisis in the ER.”

The impact on nurses has been severe.

“We’ve known this was coming. Emergency departments aren’t just short on staff…they’re short on hope,” Gear said. “People are burning out, walking away, or breaking down.”

Gear said B.C. has between 5,000 and 6,000 vacant nursing positions, and that many specialized ER nurses are leaving the profession entirely.

“To work in emergency or ICU, you need extra training,” she said. “The tragedy is that many of the nurses with those advanced skills are the ones leaving.”

Gear also noted a disturbing rise in violence against frontline workers.

“You’re seeing people at their worst… they’re scared, they’re in pain, and they’re waiting hours. Some lash out. Some leave,” Gear said.

“There’s never an excuse to punch a nurse. But that’s what’s happening.”

She also emphasized that this crisis didn’t begin with the current government, but that doesn’t make it any less urgent.

“There’s enough blame to go around,” she told Daily Hive. “This crisis predates this current government. But that doesn’t make the reality less urgent. We’re still 5,000 to 6,000 nurses short in B.C.”

What needs to happen now

Despite the record-breaking number of ER walkouts, health-care leaders say the crisis is fixable, but only if the Province moves beyond patchwork promises and taps into the full spectrum of solutions already at its fingertips.

“We’re not in a place where we give up,” said Gear. “Nurses have solutions…and we’re ready to be part of the fix.”

One of the most immediate changes, she said, is implementing minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, a model B.C. has committed to but not fully rolled out.

“Ratios work,” she said. “They reduce patient deaths, improve care, and help nurses stay in the profession. The Province already agreed to this. Now they need to act.”

But Gear and others say the Province is also overlooking one of its biggest untapped resources: skilled immigrants.

“We won’t train our way out of this crisis fast enough,” Gear told Daily Hive.

“There are internationally educated nurses and doctors in this province right now… working as Uber drivers or delivering SkipTheDishes… because we’re not supporting them to practice.”

While B.C. has made small steps to streamline credentialing, Gear said that’s only half the solution.

“Passing an exam doesn’t prepare you for the chaos of a Canadian ER. These professionals need mentorship, cultural orientation, and time to integrate… and health authorities need to stop treating them like they’re interchangeable.”

“We have the talent. We just haven’t built the bridge.”

Dr. Thompson echoed the need for a systems-wide reset, not just quick recruitment drives.

“If you don’t fix working conditions… if nurses and doctors keep burning out… then nothing changes,” he said. “It’s not about hiring one new nurse. It’s about keeping the 10 who are about to quit.”

Both leaders say the government has no excuse left to delay.

“I think we need to hold our decision makers, our government, our health authorities, accountable to decisions that they’re making,” said Gear.

Have you walked out of an ER without care? Let us know in the comments below or email vancouver@dailyhive.com if you’d like to share your story with us.

You might also like:
• 'Trump's loss': Americans could provide huge boost to B.C. healthcare
• B.C.'s publicly funded IVF program is now open for applications
• Suicide is taking the lives of too many Canadian men under 50

Want to stay on top of all things Vancouver? Follow us on X