Eight specialists eyeing Kamloops amid maternity care crisis

Seven specialists are eyeing their exit, but Interior Health has eight prospects in the running for replacements as Kamloops faces an ongoing maternity care crisis.

That’s according to an Interior Health executive who said five of those eight obstetrical gynecologists have been interviewed so far, a month after a group of specialists announced they would resign their posts locally.

“People are seeing the beauty of Kamloops and that this would be a great place to live and raise a family,” Interior Health vice-president of medicine Dr. Mark Masterson said. “Additionally, we’re bringing in locums, recognizing the people who are present need support.”

The mass exit sparked outcry for the province and the health authority to bolster maternity and women’s healthcare in Kamloops, with a newly formed local advocacy group heading into its second rally.

When the seven specialists announced their resignations, they pointed to high workloads which were risking patient safety. On-call scheduling, which the doctors were tasked with arranging, was difficult to balance with routine patient care and scheduled operations.

Masterson said the hiring effort in Kamloops would ideally see nine specialists working locally, balancing their private practice with hospital care. In addition to the hiring efforts, he said Interior Health has worked with a local prenatal clinic to open more slots for women in early pregnancy.

The stretched workforce has meant patients with fewer emergent needs aren’t getting prioritized. That was the case for Troylana Manson who told iNFOnews.ca her cancer screening, described as urgent by her family doctor, was indefinitely postponed.

She said she learned from the OB/GYN’s the specialist was forced by Interior Health to take an on-call shift at Royal Inland Hospital. Manson is waiting for the appointment to be rescheduled to learn whether she has cancer or not.

On Saturday, Maternity Matters Kamloops its hosted its second rally outside the hospital.

The newly-formed advocacy group said there has been “no meaningful public progress” to address the crisis since last month, rallying to demand the shortage be rectified.

“We share the goals, and we’re working to address them,” Masterson said. “We hear the concerns and we’re committed to working on those problems to ensure there is sustainable maternity care in Kamloops.”

Masterson said there’s no clear timeline on when the maternity care shortage could be stabilized and said there are too many variables when hiring doctors to speculate.