Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Interior Health is dealing with another round of mass resignations as five neurologists are leaving their positions with the health authority.
The resignations were first reported by news outlet Castanet, who spoke with Dr. Niall Davidson, one of the resigning neurologists, about his concerns. Davidson declined a CBC News interview request.
The resignations, and the reasons for them, were corroborated by Doctors of B.C. president Adam Thompson.
“The tipping point came last month when all neurologists in the area were told that they would have to provide on-call neurological services to the entire health authority region, rather than just their own community,” Thompson said.
“Unfortunately, this decision came despite a number of neurologists telling them it wasn’t a viable solution.”
Thompson said the resigning neurologists were being asked to provide on-call coverage via telephone and internet services, which he said raised concerns about workload levels.
It’s not the first mass resignation to occur at Interior Health. Last October, all obstetricians and gynecologists at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops resigned over what they said was a growing workload. That same month, four psychiatrists left Vernon Jubilee Hospital, in what the health authority said were unrelated reasons, but which prompted ensuing conversations about workload there.
Seven pediatricians also resigned from Kelowna General Hospital between 2023 and 2025, leading to an internal report published earlier this year which described an atmosphere of “reduced trust” and “deteriorating working relations” between physicians and Interior Health Authority leadership.
Call for more collaboration
Thompson said the underlying problem is a need for the voices of frontline health-care workers to be heard.
“I think the main problem is that there has not been reasonable respect in listening to the physicians who have some of their own solutions in this,” he said.
The headquarters for the Interior Health Authority are located in downtown Kelowna, B.C. (Ousama Farag/CBC)
“They’re the ones who are working on the front lines, and they need to be heard and understood when reflecting back how patient care can be best delivered.”
He also said he respected the need for administrators within health systems but simply wanted a more collaborative approach.
“We want to see health authorities working with physicians and incorporating their thoughts and ideas into dealing with the problems that we’re seeing across a number of different specialty services in the province,” he said.
“And indeed, we need to not see administration cut further because it’s administrative support that will help to to deliver the care and the systems that we need.”
Dr. Kirstie McLelland, executive medical director of clinical operations for Interior Health South, said that during the provincial election period, health authority communications were restricted to critical health information — limiting the amount of detail she could provide.
However, she said in a statement that people shouldn’t hesitate to seek neurology care if needed.
“Interior Health remains committed to working collaboratively with neurologists across the region in meeting the obligations outlined in the Medical Staff Rules and Bylaws to deliver services that meet the needs of patients and communities,” her statement read.