Kamloops woman’s cancer test cancelled due to IH mandates for OB/GYNs

A Kamloops woman’s cancer screening appointment was considered urgent by her doctors and scheduled within weeks, but it was postponed indefinitely when Interior Health ordered her gynecologist take that day’s on-call shift.

Troylana Manson now waits with the mystery of whether she might have cancer amid a staffing crisis for women’s health care specialists in Kamloops.

“I was happy to have that appointment in December so we could rule this out, but now it’s thrown in the air again. People in Kamloops, certainly people in positions of power, need to realize what Interior Health is doing,” she said. “By mandating that, it means a whole group of other people don’t get their health looked after.”

Staff for Manson’s OB/GYN contacted her to inform her that the appointment had to be postponed because Interior Health had “forced” the doctor to take an on-call shift instead.

Seven obstetrician-gynecologists handed in their resignation letters last month after failing to reach an agreement with Interior Health. They cited short-staffing and unmanageable workloads as they struggled to balance emergency child births with scheduled health care.

Amid efforts to recruit more specialists in Kamloops, the health authority is trying to fill gaps in the on-call shifts at Royal Inland Hospital through the rest of the year.

“I am concerned for a lot of groups of people who have been maybe put on the back-burner so Interior Health can say we’ve got our obstetricians back and everything is hunky-dory, without really knowing the other side of the story, which is we had to cancel a whole lot of appointments that were probably urgent. Or, at least, necessary,” Manson said.

While she’s concerned for other women who may be in her position, it’s also a concern for her. Manson remains optimistic that what escalated from a routine screening to a potential cancer test will turn out OK, but the 62-year-old woman doesn’t know how long it will be before she gets the answer.

Manson said she has an issue that needs to be addressed by the specialist and she doesn’t have access and doesn’t know when she’ll get it.

“Although I’ve only been waiting a month-and-a-half, it’s put in limbo. What does that mean for me?” she said.

She’s now considering whether to find another specialist locally or go to another city to find one.

Interior Health and Health Minister Josie Osborne have come under heavy criticism due to the exodus. As the doctors transition out and the health authority attempts to refill the spots, the goal is to have more than seven specialists in Kamloops.

Interior Health was not immediately available to respond to a request for comment.

iNFOnews.ca could not reach staff at the OB/GYN’s office for comment.