B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne is seeking to assure patients that obstetrical services will still be available after all seven specialists at a Kamloops hospital tendered their resignation in protest of what they called unsafe working conditions.
Ms. Osborne said the seven obstetrician-gynecologists at Royal Inland Hospital are working with the local health authority, Interior Health, on a 90-day transition plan, after which there is expected to be a phased withdrawal of the OB/GYNs’ services.
In the short-term, the province is hoping to expedite the hiring of shortlisted OB/GYN candidates and fill service gaps with locums at a daily rate of $7,100 each, with overnight premiums.
“I know that any interruption of health care services like this, especially obstetrics and gynecology and maternity services, is very stressful for people, for mothers and families and the wider community too,” Ms. Osborne told reporters on Wednesday.
The seven OB/GYNs tendered their resignations last week after what they said was weeks of engagement with government and years of advocacy over unsafe workloads, staffing shortages and a lack of support.
Seven OB/GYNs at Kamloops hospital resign, citing unsafe workloads, lack of support
Last month, The Globe reported on the dire state of obstetrical care in the province. Persistent shortages of OB/GYNs and other maternity care providers have meant that some pregnant patients are being forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to give birth, while practising OB/GYNs are routinely taking extra shifts to fill critical staffing gaps, increasing risks of burnout and to patient safety.
“Safety issues due to changing workload and inability to recruit have over many years pushed us to a point where without sufficient [Interior Health] and provincial support we are unable to continue with in-hospital care,” the Kamloops doctors wrote in an Oct. 11 letter to community health care providers.
The letter was signed by doctors Hilary Baikie, Jennifer Kozic, Paula Lott, Erin Adams, Michael Hsiao, Rita Chuang and Christine Sutton.
Ms. Osborne said the province is in the process of finalizing a new contract offer that will “significantly” increase compensation for OB/GYNs but that she is also aware the conversation must be about more than just money.
“This really is about creating the supportive work environment that physicians have made very clear that they need, and that is going to come with the right number of people and relationships between community-based family physicians and specialists at the hospital, for example,” she said.
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The Minister said it is “obviously very concerning” to see a group of physicians who feel they have no choice but to resign, and that she is hopeful the new contract offer will persuade some to stay.
Chelsea Elwood, vice-president of the Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology of British Columbia, said there is an immediate impact on patient care and safety when there are not enough OB/GYNs in hospital.
“That lack of coverage impacts not just the acuity and urgency of delivering a baby and maternity care, but also the women’s health side of things, such as emergency gyne surgery for ectopic pregnancies, where women can die and time is of the essence,” she said.
She likened locums to substitute teachers – essential in the short-term but not a sustainable long-term solution.
“They don’t provide the ongoing continuity of care that individuals need to keep high-risk pregnancies safe,” she said.
Ms. Osborne said that the province has expanded training supports through the University of B.C.’s residency training and enhanced skills program. This includes increasing annual intake in OB/GYN specialty residency from eight in 2022 to 10 this year; gynecologic oncology subspecialty positions from one in 2023 to two this year; and low-risk obstetrics for family physicians from two in 2020 to five this year.
She added that longer-term initiatives to bolster the health work force include the opening of Simon Fraser University’s School of Medicine, the first new medical school in Western Canada in nearly 60 years.
The school is now accepting applications, and the first class of 48 medical students is expected to begin studies at an interim location next August as a permanent location in Surrey City Centre is developed.