‘Some pediatric services’ will resume at Kelowna General Hospital next week

Interior Health (IH) says it will begin the process of reopening the in-patient general pediatric unit at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) next week.

On Monday, July 13, which will mark seven weeks since the highly-publicized closure began, the health authority says “some pediatric services” will return.

That includes elective pediatric surgeries, diagnostic procedures that require sedation for children and admitting patients to the pediatric unit during daytime hours.

“We are deeply grateful to the care teams who helped maintain pediatric care during this period of reduced pediatric services at KGH,” said Mark Masterson, Interior Health’s vice president of medicine.

“Resuming services at KGH continues to be everyone’s goal and our ability to start that process is indicative of the dedication, coordination, and teamwork happening at the site to support young patients.”

Speaking with NowMedia over the phone Thursday afternoon, Masterson had nothing but praise for the healthcare professionals working in the pediatric department during the closure.

The six pediatricians working at KGH continue to schedule themselves in, he explained, and the start of a phased resumption of services is thanks to their efforts and locums from pediatricians in the community and out of town.

He said two of the four physicians who recently signed on to work in pediatrics at KGH are expected to start part-time in late July, with the other two joining toward the end of summer or early fall.

"I had a great chat with one of them who is very motivated to join the community," Masterson said of one of the physicians who accepted an offer to work at the hospital.

"He is part of the Okanagan community already and really wanted to support KGH, and he has been able to come and commit to shifts earlier than was previously expected to support the department."

There have also been four signed offer letters under an associate physician program.

According to Masterson, those are physicians who are trained and licensed as pediatricians in a foreign country who will work under supervision of the Canadian pediatricians, licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, as part of the overall care team.

Masterson stressed that people seeking emergency care for a child in Kelowna are advised to continue taking them to KGH where they will be assessed by an emergency room physician.

A decision will then be made on whether the young patient can best get the care they need delivered in a safe and timely manner.

While Monday's resumption of certain pediatric services is expected to reduce the number of transfers, Masterson admitted that some transfers to alternate sites may be required.

“When this occurs, IH staff will work with partners at BC Emergency Health Services who support the transport of patients throughout the network of IH Hospitals,” a release from the health authorityexplained.

Since the pediatric closure began on May 26, there have been a total of 29 pediatric patient transfers out of KGH.

IH notes that seven of those were to BC Children’s Hospital for “reasons outside the pediatric service interruption,” with another 22 children being transferred to other sites within IH’s jurisdiction.

The pediatric crisis at KGH, along with other healthcare issues in the region like emergency department closures, led to the resignation of IH CEO Susan Brown in late June.

Hundreds of healthcare professionals have spoken out, either individually or collectively, and the Central Okanagan's three Conservative MLAs have been at the forefront of vocal criticism against IH and the Ministry of Health.

Before her resignation, Brown spoke of measures being taken to fix a "culture of fear" within the health authority, including discussions with several local pediatricians who left Kelowna's hospital for private work.

After a visit to KGH in late June, Health Minister Josie Osborne said she had “very constructive, positive conversations" with a wide range of physicians and frontline staff.

"We've been working really hard in collaboration with the pediatricians," noted Masterson. "We've brought in a partnership with Doctors of BC to look at what the needs of the pediatricians are."

While he couldn't speak any further on a timeline for the continued, phased reopening of KGH's pediatric department in a way that's "safely for our patients and sustainably for the providers."

"We'll continue to do that for adding services and getting to a complete reopening."