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By Dylana Kneeshaw

ROYAL INLAND HOSPITAL

Provincial response to RIH staffing strain includes emergency department funding, patient discharge planning

Sep 14, 2021 | 5:05 PM

KAMLOOPS — According to BC health officials, Royal Inland Hospital running at 117 per cent capacity, and the provincial health minister says several steps have been taken to address staffing strain in Kamloops.

Last week, Minister Adrian Dix stated the province had previously provided $1 million in funding to the Kamloops hospital, and while taking questions from reporters on Monday (Sept. 13), Dix provided more detail into what that money was spent on.

“We invested more than $1 million in new funding to the emergency department staffing this year. And with that two new full time nurses completing orientation this week. Since June 5, nine new staff have joined the emergency department, including five permanent full time (positions).”

In regards to nursing staff turnover, Dix stated yesterday there around about 1,037 nurses that support activities at RIH, and in August exactly 13 nurses left the hospital.

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In a statement emailed to CFJC, the Ministry of Health added, “Interior Health is facing staffing pressures similar to all health authorities in B.C. due to an aging workforce; however, the actual staff turnover rate at Royal Inland Hospital is largely unchanged compared to 2019/20, prior to the pandemic.”

The Minister also says additional measures were taken this week to support hospital management, specifically around patient discharge planning.

“We’re doing that review of long stay patients, discharging where possible to long term care, early discharge of patients who we can provide services at home, and obviously the steps taken that I described earlier with respect to the postponement of non-urgent surgeries.”

And acknowledging that a portion of the staffing strain stems from an increase in COVID-19 patients, Dix strongly encourages people in Kamloops to get vaccinated.