Doctor shortage at Kamloops hospital has expectant moms on edge

Expectant moms in Kamloops are on edge as staffing shortages at Royal Inland Hospital shut down the maternity ward earlier this week. Only the emergency room is an option for deliveries and some moms going into labour could be transported to other cities to deliver.

Chantal Hogben’s first baby is due next week.

“The tail end is the most uncomfortable part and you’re just ready to be done,” she said. “I’m grateful I haven’t had major complications so far, just a lot of morning sickness. I’ve never done this before, I’m not sure how the delivery will go and our last ultrasound predicted we’ll have a big baby.”

According to a July 24 Interior Health media release, emergency care for people in labour or experiencing complications will be available, while those without a primary or maternal care provider could be taken to other hospitals to deliver if they need specialized care. The authority stated “in most cases, those with a maternal care provider will deliver at RIH,” an uncertainty that is making Hogben nervous.

Like so many BC residents, Hogben has not had a family doctor due to a shortage since her doctor retired a few years ago. Upon finding out she was pregnant, she accessed prenatal care through First Steps Early Pregnancy clinic in Kamloops. She tried to access a midwife early in her pregnancy but said there were no spots available.

At roughly 20 weeks along, Hogben was transferred to Thompson Region Family Obstetrics Group, a group of family physicians and midwives in Kamloops who rotate as a team to provide maternity care for women from Kamloops and surrounding communities who don’t have a family doctor. Hogben said booking regular appointments hasn’t been easy, with her appointments being booked weeks in advance to ensure she got a spot.

“It sounds like doctors will be around for the delivery when the time comes but I’m unsure because of recent obstetrician shortages, it’s stressful,” she said. “If I go into labour who knows if there’ll be complications and then what will happen. You can’t put labour on pause to go to another hospital.”

The recent announcement came days after a similar announcement by Northern Health advising the Prince George community a shortage of obstetrical specialists could limit care options, resulting in expectant mothers being transported to other hospitals.

In late May, doctors in Kelowna warned maternity services were on the verge of collapse due to a shortage of family physicians.

“It is a really tough situation for any expectant mother or family to face, knowing currently with the situation with gaps in coverage of certain specialist positions and lack of attachment for women and people expecting children that they may be faced with the situation of needing to go to another hospital in order to deliver their baby,” BC Health Minister Josie Osborne said at a press conference in Kamloops, July 24.

Kamloops resident Mikaela Todd is expecting her second baby at the end of August. When she was pregnant with her first baby in 2023, her doctor retired and she was sent to another one who doesn’t specialize in pregnancy care and will be shutting down his practice in September. She was referred to Thompson Region Family Obstetrics Group for her second pregnancy.

“At this clinic there are a bunch of different doctors so you see different ones, I’ll be seeing four within this pregnancy,” she said. “Some people don’t like that and prefer one particular doctor.”

Todd said after her 28-week appointment she was told to come back for appointments every two weeks but often they were three weeks apart “because they didn’t have the space for it.”

“I was supposed to have an appointment on Friday but the doctor who was to be in clinic is out on call so they were asking if I wanted to do appointments in the labour and delivery department and go into triage and to see a doctor but if they’re in delivery you could be waiting for hours. I couldn’t be waiting and had to reschedule for a different day for in-clinic hours. It was crazy to hear that.”

When iNFOnews.ca called the Thompson Regional Thompson Region Family Obstetrics Group on July 28, administration said no one was available at the clinic to answer questions regarding the clinic’s capacity. The clinic’s answering machine states they are accepting low-risk singleton pregnancy referrals with a wait list of up to eight weeks where intakes will be triaged based on expected delivery dates.

Much like Hogben, Todd is nervous about her upcoming delivery.

“I know they’ll always have someone there to deliver but it’s whether or not I make the cut for that doctor to see me.”

Being shuffled to another hospital for delivery is on her mind as she has a toddler at home.

“We’re very fortunate, both my husband and my family are in Kamloops and are there at the drop of a hat so if we do have to take off, they can take my daughter,” she said. “I would hope we don’t have to go too far.”

Hogben has a bag packed in the event she will be transferred to a different hospital when the times comes.

“There’s already the first layer of uncertainty near the tail end when you’re waiting and you don’t know when labour is going to happen, but there is also all these added uncertainties of who knows if care will be available if needed.”