Latest news with #InteriorHealth
CTV News
10 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
Lillooet Hospital emergency room in B.C. faces another closure
Lillooet ER has faced a string of shutdowns this year, with over 30 closures in six months. Emergency services at the Lillooet Hospital and Health Centre in B.C. will be unavailable for over 24 hours, as the facility announces yet another closure. The emergency department closed at 7 a.m. Friday morning and will remain closed until 8 a.m. Saturday, according to a statement from Interior Health. Patients are advised to access care at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops in the meantime. 'People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility,' the statement said. The shutdown marks the latest in a string of over 30 closures the medical facility has faced this year, with past incidents most often caused by a lack of hospital staff. Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted is advised to call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week. All other inpatient services at the hospital are running as normal.
Global News
2 days ago
- Health
- Global News
Minister ‘closely monitoring' crisis at Kelowna hospital as more parents express concerns
A Kelowna, B.C., mother of a young girl living with a rare and terminal genetic condition is stepping forward with her concerns over the closure of the pediatric ward at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH). 'Scary,' said Susan Peters. 'It's scary.' Peters' three-and-a half-year old daughter Raven requires a lot of medical attention, so the pediatric ward closure at KGH, now in its fourth week, has caused a lot of anxiety for the family. 'We never really expect a closure of a hospital (ward) in such a such a large community,' Peters said. 'We're very concerned about if Raven ever has to go in for any sort of care, what's going to happen?' In November, the little girl spent nine days in the pediatric unit after coming down with bad case of RSV. Story continues below advertisement It's the kind of hospital admission that Peters said could be required again at any time. 'At any moment, you know, she could … choke on secretions. She could develop another cough situation that could turn into RSV, so we would have to bring her in for … immediate attention,' Peters told Global News. The concerns have been echoed by doctors themselves, who have long been calling on Interior Health (IH) to bolster pediatric staff and services to support an increasing number of pediatric patients in a growing community. 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 'It's a realization of our worst nightmare, truthfully, that all the things we advocated for for so many years didn't happen,' said pediatrician Dr. Kate Runkle. Those unsuccessful calls for changes resulted in many physician resignations over the last couple of years, due to what doctors have called difficult working conditions. Those resignations ultimately led to the pediatric ward closure. 2:01 Calls for Interior Health CEO to step down IH has said it was a difficult but necessary decision in order to protect critical pediatric services such as high-risk deliveries. Story continues below advertisement It's a service disruption that Runkle said is especially concerning for children like Raven. 'I worry that they're very fragile,' Runkle said. 'To stay in an emergency department may expose them to increased risk of infection, so there's a lot of worries, I think, for complex patients in our community.' BC's health minister told Global News Wednesday she takes the doctors' concerns very seriously and is closely monitoring the situation at KGH. 'I am confident that the discussions that are starting to take place are proceeding in a way that gives me some confidence that perspectives are being heard and I look forward to hearing more from Interior Health,' said Josie Osborne. Peters is also hoping to learn from IH as to how and why those pleas for changes kept falling on deaf ears. 'The doctors are the ones that are at the forefront. The doctors are the ones that are doing all this, Peters said. 'I'm wondering why it took so long for them to listen.' IH has said the closure may last beyond the initial six weeks that was announced and has not said when it may re-open.
Global News
3 days ago
- Health
- Global News
Kelowna hospital ER physicians 'deeply offended' by head of Interior Health's statement
Physicians who work in the emergency room (ER) at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) are expressing frustration and disappointment at a lengthy statement issued by Interior Health (IH) CEO Susan Brown amid a health care crisis. 'I thought my phone was going to explode this morning,' said Dr. Jeff Eppler, an emergency doctor. 'We're all deeply offended by this assertion; we think it's ungrounded.' On Monday, Brown issued a lengthy, two-page statement as an op-ed, saying, in part, 'I have heard some concerns about culture in the Emergency and Pediatrics Departments and I share those concerns. I've also seen behaviour that is unproductive and not in alignment with the values of IH – quality, integrity, compassion and safety.' While Brown did not clarify who is exhibiting such behaviour, ER physicians say they are insulted. 'Just questioning our integrity, our compassion and the quality of care we deliver…we provide very high quality care, in my view, and our department works very hard,' Eppler said. Story continues below advertisement 'This kind of leadership is very counterproductive to that, and … we all feel thrown under the bus. To have some vague assertions in the media is not the way to build relationships, not the way to build trust.' While Eppler acknowledged that leading a health authority is no easy job, he says the physicians felt compelled to speak out in the wake of Brown's statement. 'I think being a health-care administrator is one of the toughest jobs around but at the same time, I feel we … had to go to media just to express our dissatisfaction and really our unhappiness with this statement,' Eppler went on to say. 'I feel this is not how a real leader should operate.' 2:01 Calls for Interior Health CEO to step down Doctors have publicly called the crisis predictable, blaming it on IH mismanagement and a culture of silencing longtime concerns of front-line staff including requests by doctors to have more than one specialty physician on shift at a time. Story continues below advertisement Instead, doctors have had to cover multiple areas at once while sacrificing patient care, which led many to resign. 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 The crisis has resulted in a six-week-long closure of the pediatric ward, possibly longer. The 10-bed unit closed on May 26. 'Let's be clear, the current gaps in pediatric coverage have nothing to do with the emergency department, but they affect us more than anybody, other than the patients and their families,' Eppler said. The maternity clinic at the hospital has also been impacted and is no longer accepting patients. 'Let me be clear,' Brown wrote. 'I remain committed to listening to front-line staff and leaders and understanding how our leadership team can better support them in delivering high-quality, team-based care.' She added she and her team have participated in dozens of meetings with leaders and physicians at KGH to better understand the issues that resulted in the difficult decision to temporarily change pediatric services. The statement, however, does not address one of the key concerns expressed by the pediatricians, which includes the current staffing model. Brown also used the statement as opportunity to take aim at the media. 'I continue to hear sensationalized misinformation in the media and beyond, but I want our community to know that KGH is, and continues to be, a priority for me and IH,' Brown stated. Story continues below advertisement B.C.'s opposition party is urging the province's health minister to pay KGH and its staff an immediate visit to get a first-hand understanding of the circumstances that have resulted in the hospital crisis. 'The minister of health has not set foot in KGH as minister,' said Gavin Dew, Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission. 'I want Minister of Health, Josie Osborne, to show up and to listen direct and unfiltered to the frontline health-care professionals who are ringing the alarm and who are feeling unheard. At the end of the day, the buck stops with the minister of health.' 2:09 Kelowna mother speaking out after infant daughter transferred to Penticton hospital In an email to Global News, Osborne did not commit to a visit to KGH, stating, 'Politicizing this issue is not constructive. It's crucial that we focus on finding solutions, especially in challenging situations like this. Interior Health leadership is meeting directly with physicians at Kelowna General Hospital to discuss and work through these issues.' Story continues below advertisement Dew, along with fellow Conservative MLAs, Kristina Loewen for Kelowna-Centre and Macklin McCall for West Kelowna-Peachland, will be hosting a 'Kelowna Health Care Crisis Town Hall' on July 2 to hear from the community. The town hall will take place between 5 and 7 p.m., but the location has yet to be announced. Those planning to attend are encouraged to register on the KGH Crisis Website to help determine an appropriate venue. Organizers are extending the invitation to the health minister. Brown is set to retire in December. The Conservatives have been calling on the health minister to fast-track the leadership transition to allow a new head of IH to start tackling the crisis.
Global News
13-06-2025
- Health
- Global News
BC Conservative Party calls for IH CEO to resign immediately amid doctor shortage
Conservative Kelowna-Mission MLA Gavin Dew is calling for the immediate resignation of Interior Health CEO Susan Brown, citing what he describes as a growing crisis within the region's healthcare system. 'There's a crisis happening right here and right now, and we need change right now,' Dew said. 'It's not really possible to turn around an organization on your way out the door.' Brown is set to retire in six months, but Dew argues the system can't afford to wait. His call for action follows a temporary closure of Kelowna General Hospital's pediatric unit due to a doctor shortage — a situation that has triggered public warnings from health-care workers and physicians about deteriorating conditions. 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 'Every time we hear from the Ministry or Interior Health, they're talking about hiring new doctors or nurses. They're not focused on retaining people who are working in the system now — or those who've already left,' Dew said. Story continues below advertisement Dew has sent a formal letter to Health Minister Josie Osborne urging her to intervene if Brown does not step down voluntarily. He's requesting that an interim CEO be appointed to lead Interior Health until a permanent replacement is found. In response, Osborne issued a statement expressing her support for the current leadership team. 'I've communicated my full expectations and support to Interior Health's board of directors and senior leadership,' Osborne said, adding that the Ministry of Health is prepared to provide a neutral mediator to assist with collaboration if needed. 'At all times — and especially times like this — it is vital that we all work together on solutions, both short-term and long-term. Attacking individuals publicly does nothing to help move us forward. We remain committed to supporting the dialogue and processes in place, and to building a stronger health-care system that works better for frontline workers and patients,' said Osborne. Dew remains unconvinced. 'By the time we're having the kinds of crucial conversations needed to reset the organization — that's spring or summer of next year,' he said. 'People here cannot wait six months, nine months, 12 months to get this organization back on track.' Interior Health did not provide comment in time for publication.
Global News
13-06-2025
- Health
- Global News
Performance-based pay hikes for IH execs criticized amid Kelowna doctor shortage
Performance-based pay increases given to top Interior Health (IH) brass amid a physician shortage crisis at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) are being criticized by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). 'Taxpayers should be deeply concerned at the culture in Interior Health that's allowing this to happen,' said Carson Binda, B.C.'s director with the CTF. A shortage of physicians has already closed down the entire pediatric ward for at least six weeks and the maternity clinic is no longer accepting patients. It's a situation that doctors have publicly blamed on mismanagement by IH, saying the staffing model has been failing for years and has resulted in physician resignations. In 2023, seven pediatricians quit working at the hospital, the same year that a number of top executives received those performance-based pay hikes. Story continues below advertisement Through public documents, Global News has learned that in most cases, the executives received a 6.7-per cent increase including Interior Health CEO Susan Brown. Brown's total compensation, with that pay increase, jumped to $472, 607. One executive received a 12-per cent increase that year from a promotion. 'It's unacceptable for bureaucrats to be taking big performance-based pay raises when the health care system they're supposed to be overseeing is in free fall,' Binda said. 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 'If this were the private sector, pink slips would be raining down. Folks certainly wouldn't be taking big performance-based pay raises.' In an email to Global News, IH's board chair, Dr. Robert Halpenny, stated, 'Interior Health salary levels and benefits, including executive compensation, follow guidelines set by the Health Employers Association of BC. These province-wide frameworks are used across all health authorities and allow for performance-based adjustments that reflect organizational targets and responsibilities, not the circumstances of individual departments.' The statement goes on to say, 'In 2023, we added a total of 4,433 new frontline staff across a range of roles—843 full-time, 628 part-time, and 2,962 casual. We also continued to strengthen our physician workforce with 146 new doctors joining Interior Health that same year.' Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission Gavin Dew also expressed concern over the pay raises. Story continues below advertisement 'Things are falling apart…and yet we are rewarding leadership for what looks to me like failure,' said Dew. 2:10 Interior Health CEO speaks out on pediatric unit closure at KGH Dew. who, along with two other Conservative MLAs, met with Brown Thursday, is also raising questions whether current leadership can provide a fix given Brown is set to retire at the end of the year. 'I am not convinced that we're going to be able to restore Interior Health to balance, to restore it to function without very serious change,' he said. Dew suggested fast-tracking a leadership transition and urged B.C.'s health minister Josie Osborne to weigh in. 'The Minister of Health cannot keep sitting silent on this,' Dew said. 'She has to make a decision. She has to act. We cannot afford to wait.' Story continues below advertisement Neither Osborne nor her ministry responded to Global's request for comment.
