Dr. Sean Gorman (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Amandalina Letterio

Nursing Shortage

Royal Inland Hospital capacity at the heart of nursing shortage: Kamloops surgeon

Aug 25, 2021 | 2:46 PM

KAMLOOPS — This week, we brought you the story of overwhelmed healthcare workers and the nurses leaving Royal Inland Hospital in droves because they’re exhausted and understaffed.

Doctors have now come forward to say that the issue is because the hospital is well over capacity and the fourth wave of COVID-19 is an added stress.

As the Interior region’s new COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise, a surgeon at the hospital in Kamloops says medical staff are feeling anxious about unvaccinated patients.

“I think there’s a lot of disappointment from the staff around hesitancy to get vaccinations. I think that that hesitancy is interpreted by the staff as something that jeopardizes their safety, their family’s safety,” Dr. Sean Gorman, general surgeon at Royal Inland Hospital, told CFJC Today.

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He says the divide over vaccines has put a strain on the nurses and doctors and is a contributing factor to many leaving healthcare as a career.

“To see the people who are sick, because they didn’t have the vaccination, you’re looking after these people — God, it’s so frustrating,” Gorman said. “And when there’s that safety piece, these people look at their families and think, ‘Is this worth it?'”