A town hall provided plenty of sparks for an already explosive health care crisis in 麻豆精选.
Initiated by three Central Okanagan MLAs, the July 2 meeting on issues at 麻豆精选 General Hospital (KGH) was filled with almost 100 former and current doctors, nurses and patients.
Conservative MLAs Gavin Dew, Kristina Loewen, and Macklin McCall each spoke first to initiate the conversation in demanding health care change then asking for those in attendance to share their stories. But the tempered response appeared to be a reflection of what many say is a fear of repercussions from the regional health authority.
The first woman to speak told the crowd that she has lived in the Okanagan her whole life and was frustrated by what she called hallway medicine and misused funds by both the province and Interior Health (IH). While not announcing her name, she said her mom died at KGH while waiting for a bed in a care home.
鈥淢ost die and never make it into care after waiting months and months.鈥�
Dew, who is the official opposition critic for Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, was quick to commend the woman for speaking out on the issue saying there are a lot of 鈥渆xpensive band-aids on the system right now.鈥�
鈥淵ou know, the first time I learned about the fact that we have probably 50 beds worth of capacity sitting uncompleted on the fifth and sixth floors, that really blew my mind. And, we've had that sitting there for more than a decade. That is physical space that can be used, that simply is not being used. It's being used as horrified storage right now in a building that we all paid for."
The next speaker would turn frustration to tears as Dr. Brenda Farnquist took the mic.
Radiologist and president of the BC Radiological Society, Farnquist represents about 360 radiologists in the province.
"I鈥檓 emotional,鈥� she said, behind tears. 鈥淚t's wait times, wait times are lifetimes ... Many people wait for days, waiting for imaging in the hospital because there are only so many tests we can do per day.鈥�
Farnquist explained that there is a limited number of technologists in Interior Health who can run imaging and even fewer radiologists to read them.
鈥淚f we do not have enough people, we can't keep up with the demand. And, right now the demand is outweighing, it is out leading, what we can actually perform and it's becoming enough that if the radiologist like myself ... we feel it's dangerous.鈥�
Medical imaging describes various techniques of viewing the inside of the body to help figure out the causes of an illness or injury and confirm a diagnosis, Farnquist said. From there, patients can be directed to a surgeon or an oncologist.
鈥淚maging is integral to how modern medicine is being practiced. So, I'm here because I'm asking for help from both the public, as well as the MLAs and Conservative MP Dan Albas [who was in attendance] to make this situation better," she said.
She said that although radiologists are working with the Ministry of Health, talks have stalled and the first negotiations are only starting to come in.
Claiming there is a widespread system inefficiency, with five health authorities each using different systems that have a lack of communication between them, Farnquist said there needs to be increased funding to make the provincial medical imaging office 鈥渨ork better.鈥�
鈥淲e still use fax machines and letters to book appointments in this health authority and it's not acceptable."
'I watched my mom die on the floor'
Holding a photo of her parents, Desiree Thrings was the next to step forward holding back tears. She explained that both her mother and father died within a year of each other after falling through the health care cracks at KGH.
鈥淚 watched my mom die on the floor. She had cancer, but she didn't die of cancer. I believe it was an infection that wasn't actually medically dealt with," said Thrings.
While helping her mom fight for her life, Thrings would go through a battle of her own. Two days after her mom鈥檚 cancer treatment, she ended up in the hospital with a critical hypertension crisis.
鈥淚 have kidney failure. I'm on the brink of stage four kidney failure. I now cannot carry my own child,鈥� said Thrings.
Thrings told the crowd that she then had to watch her dad get sick and be ignored by doctors at the hospital, who said he was too weak for treatment.
鈥淭here are so many people falling through the cracks right now, and I'm very passionate about it because there are so many people not being heard."
Dew acknowledged Thrings for telling her story, saying it is difficult for people to have an honest conversation about the health care crisis in 麻豆精选.
He said that he has recently been meeting privately with people who work with Interior Health to have confidential conversations. However, these people don鈥檛 want their names used publicly for fear of losing their jobs or being punished, said Dew.
鈥淭here had to be a turnaround in leadership. That is the beginning, not the end of a process. There has to be a cultural change. There has to be a reset,鈥� said Dew, referencing the recent announcement that IH CEO Susan Brown would be stepping down, a move that comes as the authority continues to face challenges in reopening the inpatient pediatric unit at KGH.
Another woman confirmed what Dew had said, explaining that she did not want to be named because her son has been employed as a nurse at KGH for the last 18 years.
鈥淭here is a gag order on nurses. He needs his job, he has a mortgage, he has to work,鈥� she said.
'Ministry puts maternal and pediatric care at the lowest priority'
One doctor who wasn鈥檛 afraid to speak up was Dr. Paula Espino, an obstetrician and gynecologist at KGH, who had just finished a 24-hour shift.
Espino has been in practice for more than eight years and joined a group of nine 麻豆精选 obstetricians and gynecologists in 2020 during COVID-19. Since then, she said the number of primary care providers in the city has dropped from over 40 to less than 10 now.
This coupled with a boom in population growth in the region, which she said is causing burnout on the front lines.
鈥淲e know that the ministry puts maternal and pediatric care at the lowest priority. It's always the poorest funded. So we can't obviously advocate for ourselves if we're not prioritized,鈥� said Espino.
No pediatricians are currently working at KGH. The unit, which has been closed since May 26 due to a shortage of pediatricians, still does not have enough staff to safely care for young patients, according to an IH media release. While four new physicians have signed on to join the department, it's not enough to reopen the 10-bed unit just yet.
B.C. Minister of Health Josie Osborne was invited to the town hall but declined. She visited KGH on June 30, and said she was there to speak directly with physicians and frontline health-care workers about ongoing concerns at the hospital 鈥� particularly the closure of its pediatrics unit.
She called the dedication of hospital staff 鈥渋nspiring,鈥� and said that those she spoke with were both professionals and community members deeply committed to providing the best possible care.
Osborne also acknowledged that 麻豆精选鈥檚 rapid growth has outpaced local health resources.
Interior Health (IH) outlining short- and long-term initiatives aimed at addressing staffing concerns, supporting physicians, and improving communication across the health authority. Osborne voiced support for that plan but said the process would take time.
~With files from Gary Barnes
