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By Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Enough is enough – NDP must fix crisis at RIH now

May 27, 2022 | 12:00 PM

WHEN IT COMES TO THE SITUATION at Royal Inland Hospital, when do we say, ‘Enough is enough?’

That moment came for me and my colleague Peter Milobar over the recent long weekend. After nearly a year of raising the alarm about deteriorating conditions at the hospital, the final straw was seeing Interior Health put out an urgent call to all healthcare workers in the region, trying to find volunteers to redeploy to Kamloops because of the critical shortage of staff.

It was in that moment that we realized we had lost confidence in the ability and commitment of Interior Health to meet the needs of patients in our city and region.

The problems have been mounting for years, well before the COVID-19 pandemic which only exacerbated existing problems. Rumours of a toxic work environment and a lack of communication from administration. Staff shortages due to nurses being so burnt out and unhappy, they were forced to take leaves or exit their profession. Patients facing increasingly long waits for care.

The situation has only continued to deteriorate. We’ve seen the closure of the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and the loss of four critical care beds. Other units, like pediatrics, have seen temporary closures. Less operating capacity has led to surgeries being cancelled or performed in another city like Kelowna — often by Kamloops surgeons. Patients are being sent to Salmon Arm for diagnostic tests. Acute care beds at RIH are filled with patients who are waiting upwards of a year to get into long-term care.

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Meantime, healthcare pressures in more rural communities are also being felt in Kamloops. When emergency rooms in places like Clearwater and Ashcroft are routinely being closed, those patients are directed to come to RIH. With home care also deteriorating and far too many people without a family doctor, further stress is put on RIH to cope with these challenges.

It’s worth noting that RIH is one of the two tertiary hospitals in the IHA. It’s one of the largest and busiest trauma hospitals in our province. We were reminded of this on Thursday (May 26) — moments after we held a news conference to again sound the alarm about conditions at RIH — when word broke that a dangerous ammonia leak ​affecting multiple people had thrust the hospital into a Code Orange.

When major events like this happen, it becomes ever more clear that RIH has to be able to function better than it is right now. It’s Health Minister Adrian Dix who must take immediate action to resolve this crisis.

On that front, we have proposed a number of solutions. The first is to produce a concrete health human resources plan for RIH with a focus on retention and recruitment, something we have been calling for over and over again. We also need to see the immediate addition of more operating hours in Kamloops, and a plan for adding more fully-staffed and resourced operating rooms as soon as possible.

We also suggest he replace the current HR administration structure at RIH — which clearly isn’t working — with a model similar to that of Kelowna General Hospital. As well, there should be regular public communication by the IHA’s CEO and all levels of management to ensure maximum transparency on the true state of RIH and plans to address this challenging situation. Up until now, administration has downplayed the valid concerns of health care workers and patients, if acknowledging them at all.

Finally, we need a resolution to the family doctor crisis, which will ease pressure on hospital and staff resources — in addition to providing British Columbians with the longitudinal care they deserve.

Minister Dix needs to end the rhetoric, step up and fix the many issues plaguing Royal Inland Hospital — and if he can’t, the premier must step in and appoint a minister who can.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.