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CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Kelowna General Hospital doctors warn of 'collapse' of primary maternity care coverage
Doctors in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) are warning that the maternity ward is on the verge of collapse amid a shortage of family physicians. A joint statement from all nine members of the department issued Thursday said that "without immediate action from health authorities and government decision-makers, the safety of patients and newborns is at serious risk." "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. "This means that many pregnant patients may arrive at the hospital in labour with no doctor available to provide safe, continuous care during delivery." The doctors said their concerns about staffing and support have gone largely unanswered and they're demanding immediate action from Interior Health. The doctor representing the group declined an interview request from CBC News. Dr. Hussam Azzam, executive medical director for Interior Health South, acknowledged the physicians' concerns, saying KGH leadership is in regular contact with with the ob-gyns to address a complex issue with "multiple pillars to it that we need to address." "We are open to listen and we're open to work with them collaboratively to meet their needs and to deliver the best quality care that they've trained to do," Azzam said. Dr. Charlene Lui, president of the professional association Doctors of B.C., said family doctors often handle low-risk patients with obstetricians focused on cases that are high risk and more complex. "When we have fewer low-risk maternity providers that are family physicians, then that puts additional pressure on our obstetricians to sometimes need to be in several places at the same time when an emergency arises," Lui said. The statement followed last week's announcement of an extended closure of the pediatric unit at KGH. The health authority said it temporarily closed the pediatric care unit at the hospital to address scheduling gaps due to limited physician availability. "We are very alarmed to hear that the issues at Kelowna General continue to escalate without solutions from the health authority," Lui said Friday. KGH is a regional referral centre with over 1,800 deliveries each year and a Tier 4 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) caring for babies born at 30 weeks gestation or later, according to the doctors' letter. Dr. Jeff Eppler, an emergency department physician at KGH, told CBC News on Friday that he was heading into a weekend shift amid staff shortages, including no pediatricians and a limited number of ob-gyns. "Our staff is burning out. All of these service disruptions just make the job so much harder for all of us in the emergency department," Eppler said. "And even though we are all starting to burn out, we are going to have to pick up extra shifts this summer to make up for all the shortcomings in the system." In a statement, B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne said parents can be assured that all of the hospital's critical care services for children remain open, including the emergency department and NICU. Gavin Dew, the B.C. Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission, described the situation at the hospital as a "crisis of government neglect." "We have multiple departments of the hospital who clearly feel as if they are not being heard by the folks who should be listening to them and are resorting to making public the crisis-level conditions at the hospital," Dew said. The hospital ob-gyns said they have warned administrators of the risks, and have tried to offer solutions. "We have submitted multiple letters, proposals, and formal communications urging action," reads the statement. "Our concerns have gone largely unanswered." They are calling on Interior Health and B.C.'s health ministry to create a contingency plan to ensure patients are cared for and to support the transfer of maternity patients if care can't be provided locally. Osborne acknowledged the hard work of pediatricians at KGH, saying they have been dealing with staffing shortages and are "understandably experiencing burnout." She went on to say the province's efforts to recruit health-care workers are starting to pay off. Two new pediatricians have accepted offers to work at KGH, she said, with the first set to arrive in July.
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Ob-gyns pen letter warning of 'unsafe' maternity conditions at Kelowna General Hospital
Days after Interior Health announced the pediatric unit at Kelowna General Hospital would be closed for at least six weeks due to staffing shortages, a group of ob-gyn doctors are now warning the maternity ward is on the verge of collapse this weekend for the same reason. CBC's Michelle Morton has more.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Former top doctor convicted of child molestation granted full parole
A former medical health officer in B.C. and Alberta, who was convicted of sexual interference with a young boy, has been granted full parole less than two years into his sentence, CTV News has learned. Albert De Villiers, now 56, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in June of 2023 after being found guilty of the crime in February. The victim, who cannot be identified due to a publication ban, testified the doctor showed him pornography and touched him sexually on several occasions. The child was seven years old when the abuse began at De Villiers' home in Grande Prairie, Alta., where he was employed as a public health doctor for the province's northern region. De Villiers and the boy's parents were close family friends. At the time of his arrest in 2021, De Villiers was the chief medical health officer for B.C.'s Interior Health authority. 'At sentencing, the aggravating factors noted were the young age of the victim, the significant harm that was reported by the victim and his parents to have occurred, you were in a position of trust, the duration and frequency of sexual contact, that grooming behaviour occurred, and the high degree of sexual interference that took place during the sexual contact,' reads a Parole Board of Canada decision obtained by CTV News. De Villiers was assessed as a 'minimum-security offender' during his time in prison and was granted day parole in October of 2024 after 16 months behind bars. He lived at a halfway house and the parole board noted 'there have been no reported concerns' and De Villiers was 'highly motivated and engaged with (his) case management team.' While on day parole, De Villiers spent 'numerous' weekends away from the facility with his family and started working with his wife on an online business, according to the board. He applied for full parole earlier this year, and it was granted on April 15, the date his day parole expired. In coming to that decision, the parole board noted that De Villiers completed a number of sex offender programs while in custody and day parole, and was assessed as stable mental health and a generally low risk to re-offend. 'The board does not lose sight of the nature or gravity of the index offence where you committed sexual offences against an underage male victim over a period of time resulting in serious harm,' the decision reads. 'You did not consider the consequences of your actions and focused only on your own sexual gratification. The impacts on the victim and your betrayal of trust and authority on him and his family can not be overstated.' Nonetheless, the board ruled De Villiers 'utilized (his) time during (his) sentence and on day parole as it was intended' and has a high potential for reintegration. 'You have demonstrated stability, and your full parole plan is realistic and presents a strong continuum of care for your future,' the board wrote. 'You have the support of your immediate and extended family, of close friends, and a faith community. You are financially stable with employment and plans for your future.' Conditions of De Villiers' parole include an order to have no contact with the victim, the victim's family members, or any male under the age of 16. In addition, he is prohibited from being in an area children are likely to be such as schools and playgrounds, unless with a pre-approved 'responsible adult' aware of his criminal history. De Villiers is allowed to have only one phone and SIM card and must give all bills and records to his parole supervisor, who is allowed to search his texts and camera roll upon request. He is also barred from accessing any pornography or sexually explicit material.
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Unprecedented': Nearly 200 ER closures in two B.C. health regions this year
There's growing worry that lives are being put at risk by the lack of emergency health care in some B.C. communities. There's growing worry that lives are being put at risk by the lack of emergency health care in some B.C. communities. There are growing concerns over lives being put at risk over the lack of emergency health care in some B.C. communities, say local health authorities. Interior and Northern Health combined have seen close to 200 temporary emergency room closures just this year. Among them, the ER at Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre in Burns Lake, which has faced 30 closures since January. 'This is unprecedented here as far as closures go,' said Village of Burns Lake Mayor Henry Wiebe. 'People are worried. The seniors especially are worried,' he explained. The next closest emergency room is an hour-and-a-half drive away in Vanderhoof. 'When we have the diversions, that puts an extra load on the Vanderhoof and Smithers ER's, which then it's just a domino effect from there,' said Wiebe, who said he recently met with B.C.'s health minister. Northern Health alone has seen 125 temporary emergency room closures this year, 38 of them at Mackenzie and District Hospital. 'Emergency department service interruptions are always a last resort, when all options to keep the ER open have failed,' Northern Health said in an email to CTV News. In Interior Heath, there's been a total of 65 closures this year, including 31 in Lillooet. And there's more expected. 'The shortage of health professionals locally, and nationally, does continue to impact a number of our emergency departments, and although we are successful at filling many vacant shifts, we do anticipate service interruptions will continue to occur,' Interior Health said in an email to CTV News. 'When we have a closed sign on the door and you have a huge distance between communities, the risk to patients is significant. So how do we keep that door open?', asked Paul Adams of the BC Rural Health Network. Adams said instead of shutting down ER's, at least for the short-term, the province should ensure there are paramedics or other healthcare workers at hospital emergency rooms. 'If it requires a reduction in the care to be provided within that place, it's better to be reduced care than no care,' Adams said. B.C.'s health minister said she's looking at both long and short-term solutions. 'We are at work right now looking at how to better address emergency room shortages in particular,' said Health Minister Josie Osborne. 'Again, I come back to the need to train and recruit more physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers. But also looking at scopes of practise and the way people come together in emergency rooms,' she said. 'We've added two physician assistants at Saanich Peninsula Hospital over on Vancouver Island as one way of extending the services that emergency rooms can provide. We're going to continue to do everything that we can to expand that,' the minister explained. Meanwhile, Adams said the minister should review the provincial privileging system for doctors, which allows them to work in specific hospitals. He said it is duplicative and has become an obstacle for doctors who might otherwise take on additional ER shifts in rural hospitals. Emergency room closures are less frequent in the Lower Mainland, but they do happen. There have been three temporary service interruptions at Mission Memorial this year and two at Delta Hospital. 'When a physician gap is identified, we work hard until the very last moment to fill it before we implement our temporary service interruption protocol,' said an email from Fraser Health. 'Our efforts to fill shifts, and prevent emergency department service interruptions, are almost always successful,' the email read. The Ministry of Health told CTV News in an email that, 'In the first quarter of 2025, BC has seen a 26% decrease in ER closures (total hours) compared to the same period in 2024.' But for those living in communities facing ongoing closures, it certainly doesn't feel that way.
CBC
24-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Pediatric unit at Kelowna hospital to close for at least 6 weeks amid doctor shortage
An emergency department physician is sounding the alarm about staffing shortages within Interior Health following the announcement of an extended closure of the pediatric unit at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH). In a statement, Interior Health says the service disruption to the KGH's 10-bed inpatient general pediatrics unit will start Monday and last at least six weeks as pediatricians will be moved to the neonatal intensive care unit and high-risk deliveries. The health authority says it is making the temporary changes to pediatric care at the hospital to address scheduling gaps due to limited physician availability. Dr. Jeff Eppler, an emergency department physician at KGH, said parents shouldn't hesitate to bring their sick child to the emergency department to get the care they need. "I think the contingency will be if the sick child comes in ... if they need to be admitted then they are going to be staying in [the] emergency department," he said. Eppler said there had been some planning for disruptions in pediatric services, "but we were never prepared to become what is essentially a de facto pediatric ward." Dr. Hussam Azzam, Interior Health's executive medical director in community and maternity care, said that staff can make arrangements to have a young patient transferred to another hospital, hopefully within the Interior Health region. Eppler is critical of how the news was communicated to staff, saying they found out about the service interruption through a press release less than a week before the closure. Azzam said there have been shorter periods of interrupted coverage in KGH's pediatric department over the last few months due to "a chronic shortage of pediatricians" at the hospital who can look after inpatients. Eppler said he and other hospital staff knew there were going to be some disruptions to pediatric services that could last a day or even a few days, but they had no idea that a closure would last for more than a month. "I suspect this situation has been brewing for a lot longer and we should have been notified much sooner so we could do better planning," Eppler said. "This affects our department greatly because we're already often short nurses." Interior Health said the interruption in service only affects children who need to be admitted to the general pediatric unit. All critical care services for children — including the emergency department and neonatal intensive care unit — are open. Recruiting pediatricians challenging, says health minister B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne said the decision to shutter the pediatric unit for at least six weeks was a difficult one, noting that recruiting staff amid a global shortage of health-care workers is a challenge. "Pediatricians generally has been a specialty that's been more difficult to recruit to and Kelowna is not alone in experiencing these kinds of shortages," Osborne said. Azzam said they are constantly working to improve recruitment efforts. "We are hoping that there is at least one pediatrician [who] will be joining us in in the summer, so that will hopefully alleviate the pressure," he said. Eppler said it's important to emphasize that he and his emergency department colleagues will continue to provide patients with the care they need.
