Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) no longer has on-call obstetrics coverage, after the group of Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) Specialists from BC Women’s Hospital that provided them with 24/7 emergency on-call coverage ended their agreement with the hospital.
“VCH [Vancouver Coastal Health] was not able to secure an alternative arrangement for this coverage and has made some changes to how it will support these patients by safely accessing other resources across the Lower Mainland,” said Vancouver Coastal Health in a statement to Daily Hive.
If someone over 20 weeks pregnant has a life-threatening emergency and comes to the VGH emergency department, they will be stabilized and possibly transferred to St. Paul’s Hospital, Lions Gate Hospital or Royal Columbian Hospital.
The health authority noted that VGH is not a site for “maternal obstetrical services,” such as delivering babies. These services are instead provided at other hospitals, including BC Women’s Hospital, St. Paul’s Hospital, Lions Gate Hospital, and Richmond Hospital.
VCH said that there is a “very low volume” of pregnant patients who attend VGH for emergency care.
“In the interim, VGH has made arrangements to provide emergency care for people over 20 weeks pregnant to ensure services are delivered in the safest way possible. From end of 2023 to date, approximately one pregnant patient over 20 weeks gestation visited VGH for emergency care per month that required a transfer to another hospital for obstetrical care.”
They added that this plan will remain in place until they confirm a longer-term solution.
VCH advised people to call 911 in case of a health emergency, as BC Emergency Health Services will send an ambulance to the correct hospital.
OB-GYN shortage
Fraser Health has also experienced an OB-GYN shortage in the past year, resulting in them diverting maternity patients from White Rock’s Peach Arch and Ridge Meadows Hospitals for days at a time.
“As a last resort, when physicians are unavailable to fill the gaps in the obstetrics/gynecology schedule, we implement a maternity diversion to support safe, uninterrupted care for our patients,” reads Fraser Health’s website.
This is “due to the recent, unexpected departures of OB-GYNs at Ridge Meadows and Peace Arch Hospitals,” resulting in some physician shifts remaining uncovered.
Fraser Health notes that across the province, hospitals are seeing a growing demand for specialized OB-GYN care, due to fewer family doctors who offer maternity care and fewer midwives offering healthcare through pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. At the same time, maternity cases are becoming more complex.
“We recognize that this temporary maternity diversion may introduce added stress during a deeply important and often busy time for expectant parents and their families,” said Dr. Jason Burrows and Dr. Darren Lazare, co-program medical directors of Fraser Health’s maternal infant child youth program, in a statement sent to Daily Hive in January.
Ridge Meadows Hospital currently has a maternity diversion scheduled from March 5 to 9.