Interior Health CEO speaks out for 1st time since Kelowna pediatric unit closure

The CEO of Interior Health is speaking out for the first time since the closure of the pediatric unit at Kelowna General Hospital.

“I’m hearing extreme frustration, so our job is to unpack that, understand what it is and get it sorted,” CEO Susan Brown told Global News.

Conservative MLA for Kelowna Centre, Kristina Loewen, said the situation is a crisis.

“I think it’s a failure to plan as well, failure to recruit doctors. I think it’s been years in the making,” she said.

“I’m outraged, you know the warning signs were all there.”

The concerns are being echoed across the region by parents, doctors and municipal leaders.

There are about 20 pediatricians working in the Kelowna area, however, only six work at the hospital as numerous resigned in the last year, citing burnout and difficult working conditions among the reasons.

“I wouldn’t say we cannot keep people working at the hospital,” Brown said.

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“In this instance, there’s been a few that have left the pediatric department… We will be digging into what has happened over the last few years.”

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Brown said that Interior Health is taking action, including submitting a proposal to the Ministry of Health to help fast-track resources to support pediatric care, including funding for pharmacists and neo-natalists.

“This really addresses the resources that the physicians have been stating that they feel they need,” she said.

Brown also added that the health authority is communicating with community pediatricians, including those who resigned, and hopes that by adding those additional resources, it may be able to lure them back along with some new hires.

“We have a new pediatrician coming to KGH … over the summer and two accepted offers that will come in September,” she added.

When asked if she was concerned about the potential for a tragic outcome during the ward closure, Brown said, “Kelowna General Hospital has an outstanding reputation. The physicians there here are amazing. And I am not concerned about how they deliver care.”

Brown could not say when the pediatric ward will reopen.