Kamloops OB-GYNs say they can’t take on new patients due to staffing shortages

A group of obstetrician-gynecologists working out of Kamloops says it can no longer take on new patients for care throughout their pregnancies.

According to Thompson Region Family Obstetrics (TRFO), they’re turning away new patients to ensure the city’s labour and delivery ward remains staffed.

This is the latest in a long line of staffing crunches across B.C.’s maternity care system. In July, Interior Health had warned expectant families that there might be some disruptions to care at Royal Inland Hospital.

The doctors in question have taken on more shifts at the hospital as a result. The good news is that no patients have had to be transferred to other hospitals to receive care. The bad news is that the community doctors now can’t take on any new patients.

Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar says Royal Inland is a hub for the area, and other local hospitals are dealing with staffing shortages of their own.

“This will impact Kelowna. This will trickle down into the Fraser Valley,” Milobar said.

“Those resources are already stretched. Prince George people have been getting told to come to Kamloops, and now Kamloops is saying, ‘Don’t come to us if you’re pregnant.’”

In a statement to 1130 NewsRadio, the B.C. Ministry of Health says Interior Health is taking “immediate action” on the TRFO’s concerns.

“Together with the health authorities, including Interior Health, we are working hard to recruit and train more maternity care providers,” the statement said.

“We are also making it easier for doctors and nurses from the U.S. and other countries to work here in B.C. by streamlining credential recognition, and many health professionals have expressed interest in making the move to B.C.”

The health authority says you should go to the hospital if you are in imminent labour or experiencing complications for emergency care, but other patients may not receive care there.