MLA Peter Milobar & Todd Stone (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

RIH NURSING SHORTAGE

Kamloops MLAs urge NDP, IH brass to listen to exasperated Royal Inland Hospital workers

May 26, 2022 | 4:09 PM

KAMLOOPS — As the staffing-related issues at Royal Inland Hospital continue to surge, both Kamloops MLAs held court to discuss the problems and offer a set of solutions Thursday (May 26).

“It’s way beyond dire, and it’s certainly among the worst, if not the worst situation of any tertiary hospital anywhere in the province,” said Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone.

In the past month, Royal Inland Hospital has seen nursing levels drop below 50 per cent for a weekend and the closure of the pediatric ward, forcing patients to be transferred to Kelowna. This past weekend, the health authority was forced to reach out across the region to ensure staffing levels remained at serviceable levels. That was the final straw for MLAs Stone and Peter Milobar.

“We need the CEO and the senior management to actually spend a heck of a lot more time here in Kamloops, listening to healthcare workers and implementing the necessary actions to fix this crisis and fix it now,” said Stone.

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“Royal Inland Hospital is being ignored by IHA in staggering, staggering ways,” added Milobar.

After weeks of pressing the NDP government on the issue in the legislature, the members returned to Kamloops to outline the steps they believe could alleviate some of the pressures at Royal Inland. They’re calling for better communication at all levels, help on the family doctor crisis and a concrete human resources plan, referencing Kelowna General.

“We want to see the same HR model that works very, very well at Kelowna General, we want to see that HR model replicated here in Kamloops at Royal Inland as a sister tertiary hospital — not a poor country cousin tertiary hospital,” added Stone.

Staffing numbers provided to the B.C. Liberals from nursing staff showed er levels at 40 per cent on Friday, increasing slightly to 53 per cent throughout the weekend. While Milobar admitted the proposed solutions won’t solve the problem in time for the next weekend or the one after, he believes its a step towards that end.

“There is a short term fix in terms of starting to get some control over the toxic workplace and making those changes. That starts with actually listening and believing your staff and professionals and everybody in that building about what they are saying about what is actually going on,” stated Milobar.

Nurses and other allied health professionals have been speaking out about the systemic staffing issues and lack of support from upper management. While Stone and Milobar stopped short of directly saying that Health Minister Adrian Dix should resign, they did state that he must immediately take action on the file.

“If Adrian Dix is not up to that task, if he is not prepared to commit to taking action to fix this crisis now, then it’s time for Premier John Horgan to appoint a minister who will,” pressed Stone

CFJC Today reached out to Minister Dix for comment on our story, but he was not made available.

“To the healthcare workers, we stand with you, we hear you and we are going to continue to make sure your voice is heard by the minister of health, the CEO of Interior Health and the premier of British Columbia,” said Stone.