File photo (Image credit: CFJC Today).

By Aaron Schulze

ONE MAN'S OPINION

COLLINS: Women’s health is a major issue

Oct 19, 2025 | 6:00 AM

I DON’T ENVY WOMEN these days.

Aside from the debate over women’s rights, transgender issues which affect both genders, there have been so many smaller issues creeping in to muddy up the works that I daresay women are wondering what’s next.

Well, in Kamloops, we go one further. At least temporarily, women can’t even give birth at our local hospital.

Last week, all of the obstetricians and gynecologists, the specialists who have charge over women’s health, resigned en masse from Royal Inland Hospital, including resigning their hospital privileges. Those privileges are basically your license to go into the hospital and treat patients, including helping mothers give birth.

With no OB-Gyns around, it could be a serious problem if something goes wrong. So what options does a mother have? She can try to get in at another hospital, maybe she could find a midwife. In any event, the stress level for that mother is huge. And if something goes wrong before the birth, you’re telling me there won’t be an OB-GYN around to assist?

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The doctors are pulling back because they’re tired of a lack of resources and staff to look after patients. And based on many discussions I’ve had over the past year and a half while being a patient within the system, I can certainly agree with many of their concerns.

But it’s hard for me to see doctors not providing care to patients in need, to try to understand how difficult it must be for them to pull back when they know there are patients who need their help. It’s all part of an overall crisis in service levels. And Kamloops seems to be a particularly tough place to keep staff, including specialists.

I don’t know why that is. I don’t think our problems are any worse than others in the system. But the problem is obviously there. When the entire staff of a department says they can’t carry on, surely that’s a wakeup call for someone. We need to ferret out the root causes of this ongoing staffing and services shortage and work to provide solutions and a structure that will bring these problems to the forefront before an entire department has to resign to point out a critical issue that has been crying for help for far too long.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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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.