People ‘literally dying in hallways’ of KGH, Kelowna MLA claims

The Central Okanagan’s Conservative MLAs continue to call for significant change and action to fix ongoing issues at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).

They want a reform of the system, they want changes in leadership at Interior Health (IH) and at this point they simply want the Health Minister Josie Osborne to show up.

“Minister Osborne has not set foot in KGH since becoming Health Minister. The last time former Health Minister Adrian Dix did was a perfunctory pre-election reannouncement a year ago,” said Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission.

“Given the unprecedented crisis happening right now, the Minister of Health needs to look these people in the eye, actually listen to them and convince them things are going to change.”

The three MLAs issued a joint release following a first-hand tour of KGH’s beleaguered emergency department on Monday.

Dew had strong words regarding both the dire situation at KGH and the roots of the cause.

“People are literally dying in hallways while space for fifty beds sit locked in unfinished areas of the Centennial Building that opened in 2012,” he claimed.

“We don’t have a capacity problem – we have a crisis of political leadership by a government that doesn’t seem to care about our region because we don’t elect New Democrats.”

Dew, West Kelowna-Peachland MLA Macklin McCall and Kelowna Centre MLA Kristina Loewen are inviting Osborne to attend an upcoming Kelowna Health Care Crisis Town Hall.

It will be held at a to-be-determined location from 5-7 pm on Wednesday, July 2, with more information available here.

They’re calling on Osborne to attend the town hall, but note that it will proceed with or without her.

“This isn’t only a staffing problem, it’s a leadership vacuum. The people keeping KGH running deserve to have their voices heard,” McCall added.

“We are calling on Minister Osborne to immediately visit KGH and listen to feedback from those on the ground – raw and unfiltered.”

Thank you Kelowna General Hospital for the Emergency Dept tour. It was important to engage with doctors and Interior Health to understand the critical situation at KGH.

I commend the hard working healthcare professionals staff at KGH. They are very dedicated and passionate about… pic.twitter.com/I8oVZeLukv

— Macklin McCall (@mack4change) June 17, 2025

While KGH’s pediatric unit has dominated recent headlines due to the ongoing minimum-six-week closure, Loewen clarified that this isn’t just about one department.

“It’s pediatric care, surgical delays, hallway medicine and a complete breakdown in accountability,” she said.

“Doctors are going public because they’ve run out of options and they have no confidence there is a plan to fix this. This is not about finger-pointing at IH – it’s the entire system raising its voice, demanding the Minister finally listen.”

The local MLAs say they’re calling on the provincial government to stabilize pediatric services, address infrastructure underuse and respond to the unified calls from healthcare professionals for a complete overhaul of service delivery in Kelowna.

NowMedia has reached out to both Interior Health and the Ministry of Health for comment. This story will be updated when replies are received.