Alarms continue to be sounded at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).
In the early stages of a six-week closure of the hospital’s pediatric unit, which has caused doctors to speak out, more healthcare professionals have gone public with grave concerns about the state of affairs at KGH.
Nine members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at KGH released a statement this morning to share “urgent concerns about a growing crisis in maternity care in the Central Okanagan.”
The doctors say that the safety of patients and newborns is at “serious risk” if immediate action isn’t taken by health authorities and government decision-makers.
“Due to a critical shortage of family physicians willing or able to provide this care – worsened by a failure to recruit replacements – our hospital is facing a collapse of its primary maternity care coverage as early as June 1, 2025,” the statement claims.
“This means that many pregnant patients may arrive at the hospital in labour with no doctor available to provide safe, continuous care during delivery.”
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More than 1,800 deliveries take place at KGH each year, which also has a tier four Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to care for babies born at 30 weeks gestation or later.
Typically, the team of obstetrician and gynecologist (OB-GYN) provides specialized care for high-risk pregnancies and urgent gynecological issues, while primary maternity care during labour and delivery is provided by family physicians and midwives.
However, these OB-GYNs say they’ve been asked to take on additional roles, specially to act as primary maternity care providers for patients who don’t have such a care provider, on top of their existing high-risk consultative and surgical responsibilities.
“This is not a safe or sustainable solution. It is a dangerous workaround that places patients and providers at unacceptable risk,” the OB-GYNs explain.
“This situation is not new. For more than a year, our department and others have warned hospital administration and health authorities of the escalating risk. We have submitted multiple letters, proposals, and formal communications urging action. Our concerns have gone largely unanswered.”
Similar to stories heard from doctors regarding the pediatric unit crisis unfolding at the same hospital, OB-GYNs find themselves simultaneously responsible for more tasks then they are meant to.
That leaves them in an “ethically-unacceptable position” of having to choose which patient receives care first, opening up the potential for permanent harm to a mother or baby.
“These are real, foreseeable scenarios that no responsible healthcare system should allow to unfold,” they say.
These circumstances are also a violation of the standards of medical practice and hospital policy, which require a second qualified provider to assist during cesarean sections.
No one is there to fulfill this critical role for patients who don’t have a primary care provider available.
The doctors say they’ve reached an agreement with administration to divert non-emergency in-hospital gynecology consultations in an attempt to preserve some emergency response capacity.
It’s a measure that allows them to focus their efforts on the most urgent cases, but it’s “not a sustainable or ethically-comfortable position.”
The OBGYNs note that in some dire circumstances, they could be left in the “horrific position of triaging between three lives at risk – mother, baby and a separate gynecologic patient,” and the outcome may be “irreversible harm.”
While NICU coverage is currently being maintained, these doctors are sounding the alarm about the combined impact of these dual shortages.
They say it “represents a failure of our regional healthcare infrastructure to adequately support prenatal care.”
They’re calling on Interior Health and BC’s Ministry of Health to act immediately on the following:
- Restore and maintain primary maternity care coverage through proper compensation and active recruitment.
- Create a safe contingency plan that ensures patients are cared for by trained, available professionals.
- Support appropriate diversion or transfer of maternity patients if safe care cannot be provided locally.
“Our department remains fully committed to the well-being of our community, but without urgent action, the risk of avoidable harm increases daily,” the statement concludes.
“We urge the public and our colleagues across the healthcare system to join us in demanding a solution that prioritizes patient safety, provider wellness, and sustainable care for the Central Okanagan.”
The nine members of KGH’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology who prepared and unanimously endorsed this statement are: Dr. Joanna Baxter, Dr. Shelley LaBerge, Dr. Lisa Catt, Dr. T.B. Kate Collins, Dr. Amber Burridge, Dr. Karen Meathrel, Dr. Paula Espino, Dr. Chantalle Brace and Dr. Sumathi McGregor.
NowMedia has reached out to Interior Health for comment.
