All obstetricians and gynecologists at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) in Kamloops, BC, have jointly announced their resignation from the hospital, leaving Some expectant parents were worried about the future.
in a letter dated Saturday, The group of seven doctors said they decided to abandon their obstetrics and gynecology practices due to safety concerns resulting from a changing workload and ongoing recruiting struggles.
“It is unprecedented for an entire group of doctors to leave, but with the state of obstetrics in our community and with the upcoming loss of the [Thompson Region Family Obstetrics] group, we do not see a viable path forward,” doctors Hilary Baikie, Jennifer Kozic, Paula Lott, Erin Adams, Michael Hsiao, Rita Chuang and Christine Sutton said in the letter.
Obstetricians and gynecologists will no longer provide hospital care, such as labor, delivery and C-sections, once replacements can be found.
Doctors said they hope the “near total loss” of high- and low-risk obstetrics in Kamloops will motivate the Interior Health Authority to better support women’s health.
They said they plan to phase out patient care, and several doctors hope to continue in-office outpatient gynecological work.
They will send notices to phase out hospital care and each surgeon will contact surgical patients on their waiting list to plan next steps, according to the letter.
“RIH is the first major facility to close due to systemic underfunding of women’s healthcare. We do not anticipate it being the last,” the doctors warned.
CBC News contacted all seven doctors, but they all declined to be interviewed.
Expectant mother Brianna Jones, who works at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops and is 20 weeks pregnant, said the news of the resignations worries her about her delivery.
“I’m pretty nervous about what that’s going to look like, also as an older mom who also influences things. So I hope everything turns out well,” she said.
Hiring a challenge: Interior Health
Interior Health President and CEO Sylvia Weir said the health authority will be part of the transition planning alongside Perinatal Services BC to ensure patient care is maintained.
Weir emphasized that nothing will change for patients in the immediate future, adding that it will be a months-long process.
He said he spoke to doctors over the weekend and heard about their feelings of exhaustion.
Weir said he respected the doctors’ decision to resign, adding that recruiting obstetricians has been a challenge not only in British Columbia, but across Canada.
“But we have found qualified obstetricians in the past and we will find them again.”
Health Minister says new recruits will come
British Columbia Health Minister Josie Osborne said she takes the matter very seriously.
“It’s obviously very concerning to see a group of doctors who feel pushed to get to this point,” he said.
Osborne said the fundamental problem is a shortage of health professionals in particular areas such as maternity services.
He said Interior Health has identified more than a dozen qualified candidates to bolster its capacity in obstetrics and gynecology positions.
He said the government is in the process of finalizing a new contract offer that would “significantly increase compensation to better support workloads.” [and] improve recruitment and retention.”
He added that the Ministry of Health is expanding the number of training places to incorporate more obstetricians and gynecologists.
But Peter Milobar, BC Conservative MLA for Kamloops Centre, said it’s shocking to hear about the resignations and is a cause for concern for other regions about their own maternity care.
“This has been something this government has been warned about for many years, it has fallen on deaf ears and doctors have taken this kind of extreme step,” he said.
Milobar said she wants the Health Minister to commit to a long-term plan for maternity care in Kamloops.
