Kamloops woman’s screening appointment cancelled as OB-GYN shortages persist

“[It was cancelled] because the doctor involved has been mandated to work on-call on that day. All her appointments are cancelled,” Manson retells of that phone conversation.

Manson says she’ll have to either wait for rescheduling, try another gynecologist practice or go to another community entirely. But the uncertainty around wait times has made her frustrated and nervous, as the appointment was related to cancer screening.

The 62-year-old understands why certain situations are triaged the way they are, but feels deferring gynecological care to fill on-call obstetrics shifts because of short staffing isn’t providing stable health care to the broader public.

“They are attempting to solve the problem, but at what cost?” she asks. “Is it at the cost of other kinds of women’s health care? And I feel my issue falls in that category.”

It’s an example of the other spectrum of care provided by OB-GYNs that can be impacted by short staffing or resource strain. It’s also why Maternity Matters Kamloops is organizing another rally.

Organizer Alix Dolson says the group hasn’t heard of enough meaningful changes on the obstetrics and gynecological situation.

“The stories we’re hearing of people going through high risk pregnancies without adequate care, people missing cancer screenings because of these changes — those are all concerns right now and we only expect those issues to worsen when the care options reduce,” notes Dolson. “It’s very concerning, and like we’ve said from the beginning, what we’re trying to avoid here is fetal and maternal death.”

Hundreds gathered at the last rally, urging the health authority and provincial health ministry to resolve the OB-GYN dispute over contracts, working conditions and burnout that were cited in a letter penned by the doctors involved in the mass resignation.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t seen enough progress and that has been communicated to us by frontline providers, as well,” adds Dolson. “They still aren’t sure what the next steps are. They aren’t sure what’s happening behind the scenes to solve this problem.”

The last update in an interview from Interior Health cited potential for some of the resigning doctors to stay and hinted at five new ones interested in working at RIH. In the absence of concrete solutions, though, Maternity Matters will be back at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, rallying for healthcare improvements.

Interior Health was contacted for comment Wednesday (Nov. 26), and sent the following statement to CFJC.

“Maternity care — including prenatal, delivery and postnatal services — continues in Kamloops. Interior Health is working closely with physicians, midwives, and care teams to make sure patients receive the support they need, when they need it. Thanks to the hard work of our teams no patients have required transport from Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) to alternate facilities due to obstetrician-gynecologist coverage.”

In that statement, IH also urges people who aren’t attached to a primary care provider to contact the Early Pregnancy Access to Care and Triage Clinic. Notably, the health authority says it has been able to work with that clinic to make space at the North Shore Primary Care Centre for up to 16 additional appointments per week at that location.

Anyone in need of labour and delivery services or emergency care is still urged to go to Royal Inland Hospital.

by Dylana Kneeshaw

Kamloops woman’s screening appointment cancelled as OB-GYN shortages persist

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