Latest news with #GavinDew
Global News
15 hours ago
- Health
- Global News
Interior Health won't rule out pediatrics closure extension
What was supposed to be a six-week closure of the pediatric ward at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) will likely extend beyond that. 'The service interruption itself is really stressful for parents but the uncertainty is even more frustrating,' said Gavin Dew, Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission. With the closure of the 10-bed unit now in its fourth week, Interior Health (IH) is still unable to say when it will reopen. In a statement to Global News, IH CEO Susan Brown stated, 'Interior Health leadership is fully committed to restoring full services and the entire team at Kelowna General Hospital are committed to addressing the current challenges and reopening the unit as quickly as possible.' Brown went on to say that reopening will happen as soon as it is safe and feasible but stopped short of providing a more concrete timeline other than stating, 'to build towards reopening, one new pediatrician is starting this summer with two more joining in September.' Story continues below advertisement 3:18 Kelowna General Hospital pediatric unit's troubled history The ward closed on May 26 so that the few pediatricians left working at the hospital would be available to cover critical services, such as high-risk deliveries. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Since the ward's closure, 14 young patients have needed a hospital admission and had to be transferred to other hospitals. Five of those patients were transferred to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, nearly 170 km away. The other transfers involved hospitals in Vernon and Penticton. 'That's just not acceptable especially for how fast and big Kelowna is growing to not have that for people,' said Brent Watson, a Kelowna father of two young children. 'I just can't get my head wrapped around it.' Story continues below advertisement KGH doctors have gone public in recent weeks, claiming the current crisis is the result of an inadequate staffing model that often has one pediatrician on shift and makes it impossible to properly care for all the children needing their attention. However, they say the calls for change were ignored for years and prompted specialists to resign. Those resignations culminated in occasional service disruptions and now the lengthy pediatric ward closure. 'Now that they've started speaking out, they've started asking for better,' Dew said. 'I don't think this is going to stop until there's a really serious reset in the system.' That reset many doctors say has to in part involve dual pediatrician coverage 24/7. 2:01 Calls for Interior Health CEO to step down On Friday, Global News asked IH if it will commit to the change. Story continues below advertisement 'We have been moving to that split service delivery model for some time, with contracts, compensation and other solutions in place to support it, with the goal of having pediatricians assigned to both areas, one each at both the NICU and the pediatrics unit,' Brown stated. 'We remain committed to ensure all potential compensation strategies are in place to enable the additional capacity in the pediatrics unit and support a collaborative and sustainable model.' Brown is slated to retire in December. There have been calls from the BC Conservatives to fast-track the leadership transition in order for a new CEO to begin implementing long-term solutions to the crisis.
Global News
18 hours ago
- Health
- Global News
Pediatric ward closure at Kelowna hospital will likely extend beyond 6 weeks
What was supposed to be a six-week closure of the pediatric ward at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) will likely extend beyond that. 'The service interruption itself is really stressful for parents but the uncertainty is even more frustrating,' said Gavin Dew, Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission. With the closure of the 10-bed unit now in its fourth week, Interior Health (IH) is still unable to say when it will reopen. In a statement to Global News, IH CEO Susan Brown stated, 'Interior Health leadership is fully committed to restoring full services and the entire team at Kelowna General Hospital are committed to addressing the current challenges and reopening the unit as quickly as possible.' Brown went on to say that reopening will happen as soon as it is safe and feasible but stopped short of providing a more concrete timeline other than stating, 'to build towards reopening, one new pediatrician is starting this summer with two more joining in September.' Story continues below advertisement 3:18 Kelowna General Hospital pediatric unit's troubled history The ward closed on May 26 so that the few pediatricians left working at the hospital would be available to cover critical services, such as high-risk deliveries. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Since the ward's closure, 14 young patients have needed a hospital admission and had to be transferred to other hospitals. Five of those patients were transferred to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, nearly 170 km away. The other transfers involved hospitals in Vernon and Penticton. 'That's just not acceptable especially for how fast and big Kelowna is growing to not have that for people,' said Brent Watson, a Kelowna father of two young children. 'I just can't get my head wrapped around it.' Story continues below advertisement KGH doctors have gone public in recent weeks, claiming the current crisis is the result of an inadequate staffing model that often has one pediatrician on shift and makes it impossible to properly care for all the children needing their attention. However, they say the calls for change were ignored for years and prompted specialists to resign. Those resignations culminated in occasional service disruptions and now the lengthy pediatric ward closure. 'Now that they've started speaking out, they've started asking for better,' Dew said. 'I don't think this is going to stop until there's a really serious reset in the system.' That reset many doctors say has to in part involve dual pediatrician coverage 24/7. 2:01 Calls for Interior Health CEO to step down On Friday, Global News asked IH if it will commit to the change. Story continues below advertisement 'We have been moving to that split service delivery model for some time, with contracts, compensation and other solutions in place to support it, with the goal of having pediatricians assigned to both areas, one each at both the NICU and the pediatrics unit,' Brown stated. 'We remain committed to ensure all potential compensation strategies are in place to enable the additional capacity in the pediatrics unit and support a collaborative and sustainable model.' Brown is slated to retire in December. There have been calls from the BC Conservatives to fast-track the leadership transition in order for a new CEO to begin implementing long-term solutions to the crisis.
CTV News
31-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
OB/GYNs warn of looming crisis in maternity ward at Kelowna General Hospital
Nine doctors who work in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Kelowna General Hospital are warning because of a lack of family physicians who can deliver babies, the region faces the collapse of primary maternity care coverage as early as June 1. In a news release, the nine OB/GYNs, who provide specialized care for high-risk pregnancies and emergency services at the hospital, say they're also being asked to cover low-risk labour deliveries, which are normally covered by family doctors and midwives. 'If a low-risk patient is delivering and something high-risk or emergency comes along where the obstetrician is urgently needed, they can't be in two places at once. So it causes some serious concerns around delivering quality patient care and safety,' said Dr. Charlene Lui, the president of Doctors of B.C. The news release says it puts the OB/GYNs in a position where they will have to choose which patient to care for first, which could result in permanent harm to mother or baby. 'These doctors are sounding the alarm because somebody is going to get hurt, somebody is going to die,' said Gavin Dew, the B.C. Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission. 'It has gone on for far too long. These smart, talented and trained frontline professionals have not been heard.' The warning about a looming crisis in the maternity ward at Kelowna General comes on the heels of the pediatric unit announcing it will close for six weeks because of a shortage of pediatricians. 'Kelowna at the moment is really seeing some enhanced challenges compared to other regions of the province and the country,' said Lui. 'This is in every parent WhatsApp group in Kelowna and in the Okanagan. Everyone is talking about this, everyone is scared by this, everyone is angry about this,' said Dew. 'We obviously need appropriate staffing levels. We obviously need operational changes. But the most important thing that needs to happen is that government needs to start listening to the frontline medical professionals who are the boots on the ground dealing with this crisis,' he added. 'We do have concerns that Interior Health is downplaying how serious these issues are and how they can negatively affect patients in the community and the physicians working in the hospital,' said Lui. CTV News reached out to Interior Health for comment but did not hear back by deadline. This article will be updated if a response is received.
