Local News
IH optimistic Kelowna Hospital pediatric unit will re-open in July

Interior Health says it’s doing its level best to ensure the closure of the pediatric unit at Kelowna General Hospital doesn’t stretch past early July, but it’s not making any promises, either.
The health authority’s CEO, Susan Brown, tells 1130 NewsRadio that they’re still aiming to reopen the ward, which closed abruptly last week, by July 5.
However, she admits that things could change.
“There is a possibility, but we’re hoping to mitigate that to the best of our ability,” Brown explained.
Interior Health is working to urgently recruit pediatricians, Brown adds, and it has contracts signed for doctors to start in the summer and fall. She notes that the baseline number of physicians needed is 12.
“Now, there are 5.5 full-time equivalents, but two are on leave,” she explained, adding that the department needed to close with children’s safety in mind.
Brown says some pediatricians also left their previous positions to work in community care instead, and she admits that doctors in the unit have had concerns in the past.
“They were frustrated about some resourcing within the hospital itself, our population is growing, there’s more children in the area,” she explained, adding that doctors are also seeing more complex cases.
Dr. Jeffrey Eppler, who works at the KGH’s emergency department, says there had been disruptions to the pediatric unit in the weeks and months prior to the current six-week closure.
“If I saw a child that had some kind of pediatric issue that didn’t necessarily need to be admitted to hospital but needed some kind of follow-up, without our pediatric service in the hospital, it’s much more difficult to arrange that sort of thing, so it definitely complicates care,” he said.
He explains that parents should still bring their children to the ED if there’s an emergency, and while it’s not ideal for children who need ongoing care, the KGH is the medical hub for the Okanagan.
“We have been able to transfer pediatric patients to other centers, but that’s less than ideal, because we were the pediatric tertiary care center for Interior Health, and also when we do transfer patients, they still will spend some time in our emergency department until they can be transported,” Eppler explained.
According to Interior Health, seven children have had to be transferred out of KGH to other hospitals in the region to receive care since the closure last week.
“If I’m in the emergency department, I’m busy seeing patients, I don’t really have the time to provide ongoing care to pediatric patients until they’re transported to another hospital, so we’re trying to increase physician resources to make up for that,” Eppel said.
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