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CBC
6 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Some pediatric services to resume at Kelowna General Hospital after 6-week closure of unit
Social Sharing Some pediatric services will resume at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) on Sunday, six weeks after the inpatient general pediatrics unit closed due to a doctor shortage. The closure first began on May 26 at the 10-bed inpatient unit, prompting a group of pediatricians to come forward and say there were poor working conditions and a lack of communication at the hospital. Physicians and the Opposition B.C. Conservative Party were sharply critical of the province and the Interior Health Authority, and the authority's CEO stepped down a few weeks after the closure was announced. This week, Interior Health said elective pediatric surgeries and some diagnostic procedures for children would resume at the hospital. The unit will also begin admitting patients to the pediatric unit during daytime hours. Dr. Mark Masterson, the vice-president of medicine for Interior Health, said the authority would be phasing in services in a way that would be safe for patients and sustainable for doctors. "We have a schedule now with consistent coverage during the days, and that's allowed us to change," he told Chris Walker, host of CBC's Daybreak South, on Friday. "We've been able to accomplish this both with the pediatricians in the community who have been [serving on locums] over time ... as well as the pediatricians who've been working at KGH in a full time and permanent capacity." WATCH | Interior Health CEO resigns: Interior Health CEO steps down amid Kelowna pediatric unit closure 16 days ago Duration 3:30 Interior Health CEO Susan Brown is stepping down months ahead of her scheduled retirement, amid an ongoing closure of the Kelowna General Hospital's pediatric unit and calls for her resignation. Brady Strachan has the details. Masterson said that the authority would have four new doctors join KGH over the summer and fall, and two of them would be arriving earlier than expected. The doctor acknowledged that some patients would still need to be transferred to other hospitals within Interior Health, or to B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver, if it is deemed medically necessary. Interior Health said that, to date, 22 patients were transferred to other hospitals in the region, and seven were taken to B.C. Children's Hospital. However, the health authority says it expects the number of pediatric transfers to decrease as it resumes services at KGH. During the six-week closure, critical care services for children, including the emergency department and neonatal intensive care unit, remained open. Only general admissions were affected, according to Interior Health. Concerns over workload Earlier in June, Dr. Alysha MacKenzie-Feder told CBC News she and six other pediatricians left the hospital in 2023 because of years of unmanageable caseloads. "It's not that there is a shortage of physicians, it's that the system doesn't exist for them to work safely and sustainably," Mackenzie-Feder said previously. In response to the physician's concerns, Masterson said he acknowledged their frustration, and said the authority was making changes to ensure doctors' voices would be heard. "Over the last while, we have been working very closely with the pediatricians on what we've been referring to as splitting the service," he said. "And so working to have enough staff available at any given time so that there are two pediatricians available to the site." The doctor also said the authority was planning to bring in associate physicians this summer, after licensing changes to allow them to practice in B.C. under the supervision of a senior physician. "This is going to be an ongoing process, and we're going to continue to work on building and improving clinical services, not just in pediatrics, but in the other departments and not just at KGH," he said.
Global News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Global News
MLA expelled from BC Conservatives launches new ‘OneBC' party
There's been yet another shakeup in British Columbia politics. Two out of three MLAs who split with the BC Conservative Party earlier this year have launched their own new political party, dubbed 'OneBC.' The party's website went live on Thursday. OneBC has already registered with Elections B.C., with Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie listed as interim party leader. 'OneBC is for British Columbians who are proud of their history and aren't afraid to fight for a prosperous and beautiful future,' Brodie said in a message posted to social media. 'I knew it was time to build something new to reverse the flight of capital, talent and young people, to combat the globalist assault on our history, culture and families, to rebuild our corrupted institutions and crumbling infrastructure.' Story continues below advertisement Among a long list of policy positions, Brodie pledged her party would 'defund the reconciliation industry,' implement a 50 per cent tax cut on incomes under $100,000, 'eradicate gender ideology and woke policies' from schools, introduce private health care options and end mail-in and early voting. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Kelwona-Lake Country-Coldstream MLA Tara Armstrong was also listed on the website alongside Brodie. The duo were both elected as BC Conservatives in the 2024 provincial election. 2:37 MLA booted from B.C. Conservatives over residential school comments, 2 more quit Brodie was expelled from the party in March over comments regarding residential schools, with leader John Rustad saying she had decided to 'publicly mock and belittle testimony from former residential school students, including by mimicking individuals recounting stories of abuses, including child sex abuse.' Armstrong and Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy both subsequently quit the BC Conservatives in solidarity. Story continues below advertisement Kealy, however, is not joining the new party and says he will remain as an independent in the legislature. 'Right now I'm just not ready to commit to another party until I actually see what the party's about, who's on the board of directors, the key contributors to the new party are identified, see the party constitution — these are all critical issues,' he said. 'Where they decide to go with it, that's completely up to them. I'm going to pursue the same route that I have been, and that's to do my job properly as an MLA for Peace River North and represent my constituents.' Conservative strategist Anthony Koch accused Brodie of splitting with the BC Conservatives over 'ego' but presenting her new venture as an 'ideological crusade' focused on 'niche issues that people find in the nether webs' of social media platforms like X. 'I think it's safe to say that the Conservative Party of British Columbia is probably the most right-wing party in the country, federally or provincially,' he said. 'I think we ran the most right-wing populist campaign that's been run in Canada in several decades. So if that's not good enough for you, I don't really know what to say.' British Columbia's next provincial election is scheduled for the fall of 2028.
