Maternity services in another B.C. community face disruptions due to doctor shortage

Less than a week after B.C.'s health minister warned more disruptions could be coming to maternity services across the province, Interior Health has announced potential gaps in its maternity department physician scheduling at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, B.C., that could affect services beginning Saturday.

In a statement on its website, the health authority said expectant parents without a primary or maternal care provider will be assessed at the hospital, with the possibility of being transported to another facility to deliver their babies if they need specialized care.

The health authority also said anyone in labour should go to Royal Inland Hospital to be assessed, and that emergency care for people in imminent labour or experiencing urgent complications will be available.

It comes days after a similar announcement was made in Prince George, with Northern Health advising the community a shortage of obstetrical specialists could limit care options.  

In late May, doctors in Kelowna warned maternity services were on the verge of collapse as they saw a shortage of family physicians, and earlier in the year, Dawson Creek's only obstetrician-gynecologist left the community, forcing high-risk patients to travel north to Fort St. John for care.

Interior Health's executive medical director, Peter Bosma, said it's a difficult time and physicians are feeling the workload.

"The effects that it has for them wanting to provide good patient care, they continue to do that, but volumes are high, and they're working extra to make sure patients are cared for.

Health Minister Josie Osborne acknowledged the anxiety the disruptions are causing families, and said that no one in need of care would be turned away when a birth is imminent. 

"The health authorities, I know, are doing everything that they can to alleviate that strain, to work with physicians and care teams to ensure that services are there for people," she said on Monday. 

Since recruiting began in March, Osborne said more than 2,250 doctors, nurses and other health professionals have signed up for webinars and expressed interest in working in B.C. 

Interior Health says it is expecting maternity disruptions to last through the end of August, and Bosma said they will be evaluating the situation one month at a time. 

"Schedules are a little bit fluid in terms of people picking up shifts. Last-minute locums come up, or a position that's local has availability where they really want to help out, and they're able to last-minute."