More than 100 demonstrators rallied outside Kamloops’ Royal Inland Hospital Saturday to demand better maternity care following the mass resignation of all seven of the hospital’s OB/GYNs over working conditions.
“I’m eight months pregnant, and I live in Kamloops, and I have a vested interest in obstetrics,” said Emily Bootle, one of the rally participants.
“But also, I just really feel like as a community, we really deserve better access to just at least the security of knowing that support exists. We don’t have that.”
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Bootle said she feels fortunate to have a midwife but worries for others who might not.
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“The reality is, when I think about if I am in an emergency, I will need support, and not really having a total guarantee that that will necessarily be there, is worrying,” she said.
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The rally was organized by Maternity Matters Kamloops, a newly formed advocacy group. The group includes several health care workers who fear retaliation from Interior Health for speaking out.
“Maternity care has reached a breaking point in Kamloops,” said Maternity Matters rally organizer Alix Dolson.
“And with some new information that came out in the last few weeks about how much more dire circumstances are about to become for women in Kamloops, we knew that we needed to do something.”
Katie Neustaeter, a city councillor and co-founder of Maternity Matters Kamloops, called the current situation unacceptable and raised concerns about the future of safe, reliable care.
“Every mother should be guaranteed her care,”Neustaeter said. Every newborn should be born into a safe situation within British Columbia and certainly within Kamloops.”
Discussions between the health authority and the doctors who resigned have been ongoing. Meanwhile, Interior Health has job postings offering $7,000 per day to OB/GYNs from elsewhere to work temporarily at the hospital.
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Doctors of BC says what’s happening in Kamloops reflects a bigger problem across the province.
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“They don’t have the resources or the staff they need to provide quality patient care, and it’s resulting in exhaustion, burnout and moral distress,” said Dr. Charlene Lui, president of Doctors of BC.
“We are trying to support our physicians as much as possible, and inviting the government and the health authority to speak with us so that we can try to help improve the working conditions that our physicians.”
Interior Health did not provide a comment ahead of Saturday’s rally but informed Global News on Friday it would respond on Monday.
“People shouldn’t have to rally for the base level of care that we expect that we pay our taxes for in this province,” Neustaeter said.
“While I’m grateful to every person who turned out, my hope is that we don’t have to do this again. But there’s a piece of me that wonders.”
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