Pediatric unit at Kelowna hospital to close for at least 6 weeks amid doctor shortage

Jon Azpiri · CBC News

· Posted: May 24, 2025 11:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

An exigency section doc is sounding the alarm astir staffing shortages wrong Interior Health pursuing the announcement of an extended closure of the pediatric portion astatine Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).

In a statement, Interior Health says the work disruption to the KGH's 10-bed inpatient wide pediatrics unit will commencement Monday and past astatine slightest six weeks arsenic pediatricians volition beryllium moved to the neonatal intensive attraction portion and high-risk deliveries. 

The wellness authorization says it is making the impermanent changes to pediatric attraction astatine the infirmary to code scheduling gaps owed to constricted physician availability.

Dr. Jeff Eppler, an exigency section doc astatine KGH, said parents shouldn't hesitate to bring their sick kid to the exigency section to get the attraction they need.

"I deliberation the contingency volition beryllium if the sick kid comes successful ... if they request to beryllium admitted past they are going to beryllium staying successful [the] exigency department," helium said. 

Eppler said determination had been immoderate readying for disruptions successful pediatric services, "but we were ne'er prepared to go what is fundamentally a de facto pediatric ward."

Dr. Hussam Azzam, enforcement aesculapian manager for Interior Health South, said that unit tin marque arrangements to person a young diligent transferred to different hospital, hopefully wrong the Interior Health region.  

Eppler is captious of however the quality was communicated to staff, saying they recovered retired astir the work interruption through a property merchandise little than a week earlier the closure. 

Azzam said determination person been shorter periods of interrupted coverage successful KGH's pediatric department over the past fewer months owed to "a chronic shortage of pediatricians" astatine the hospital who tin look aft inpatients.

Eppler said helium and different infirmary unit knew determination were going to be some disruptions to pediatric services that could past a time oregon adjacent a fewer days, but they had nary thought that a closure would last for much than a month. 

"I suspect this concern has been brewing for a batch longer and we should person been notified overmuch sooner truthful we could bash amended planning," Eppler said. "This affects our section greatly due to the fact that we're already often abbreviated nurses."

Interior Health said the interruption successful work lone affects children who request to beryllium admitted to the wide pediatric unit. All captious attraction services for children — including the exigency section and neonatal intensive attraction portion — are open.

Recruiting pediatricians challenging, says wellness minister

B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne said the determination to shutter the pediatric portion for astatine slightest six weeks was a hard one, noting that recruiting staff amid a planetary shortage of health-care workers is simply a challenge. 

"Pediatricians mostly has been a specialty that's been much hard to enlistee to and Kelowna is not unsocial successful experiencing these kinds of shortages," Osborne said. 

Azzam said they are perpetually moving to improve recruitment efforts. 

"We are hoping that determination is astatine slightest 1 pediatrician [who] volition beryllium joining america successful in the summer, truthful that volition hopefully alleviate the pressure," helium said.

Eppler said it's important to stress that helium and his exigency section colleagues volition proceed to supply patients with the attraction they need. 

"We inactive supply bully care," helium said. "We are trained successful pediatrics, but we bash not deliberation it is simply a bully happening that we're becoming fundamentally a pediatric ward."