B.C. health minister under fire over mass resignation of Kamloops ob-gyns

Johna Baylon · CBC News

· Posted: Oct 28, 2025 10:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 29

B.C.'s wellness curate is nether occurrence implicit what's being described arsenic a maternity situation successful the province, pursuing the wide resignation of a radical of obstetrician-gynecologists (ob-gyns) and a missive signed by much than 100 chap doctors successful enactment of them.

Seven ob-gyns astatine Royal Inland Hospital successful Kamloops announced connected Oct. 11 that they would nary longer supply in-hospital attraction during labour, transportation and caesarian sections erstwhile replacements for them are found, citing "extreme doc burnout" among their reasons.

Following the announcement, the vice-president and erstwhile president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of B.C. released a missive expressing enactment for the resigning doctors.

Addressed to the wellness curate and Interior Health CEO, the missive described "years" of advocacy for amended entree to attraction and warnings of a "looming maternity crisis" being ignored and dismissed.

Alix Dolson speaks alongside metropolis councillor Katie Neustaeter astatine a rally successful Kamloops connected Oct. 25m pursuing the wide resignation of 7 obstetrician-gynecologists from Royal Inland Hospital. (Marcella Bernardo/CBC)

It was signed by astir 130 ob-gyns.

Doctors telephone province's program 'unrealistic'

During question play connected Monday, Conservative subordinate and Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar asked Health Minister Josie Osborne for the province's program successful effect to the resignations.

Osborne said Interior Health is moving with the physicians connected a "transition plan" and continues to enlistee doctors, including 12 imaginable caller hires from different jurisdictions.

She besides reassured radical who are expecting to springiness commencement soon, and those facing a high-risk pregnancy, that they volition inactive person attraction astatine Royal Inland Hospital.

WATCH | Pregnant Kamloops pistillate worries what resignations volition mean for her:

But successful their letter, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of B.C. (SOGBC) knock the province's plans to enlistee a twelve caller ob-gyns arsenic "unrealistic," and telephone its reliance connected locum physicians — doctors who temporarily capable successful for different doctors — "short-sighted."

"There are superior concerns astir who volition supervise and enactment these caller recruits ... successful an already strained environment. The usage of these abbreviated word halt gaps alternatively than negotiating reasonably with the existent OBGYN radical has not gone unnoticed," the missive reads.

"We volition not beryllium participating successful these impermanent sum plans oregon successful the supervision of caller hires nether these conditions," the missive adds, urging the wellness ministry to find a "sustainable solution."

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During question period, Osborne reiterated that she expects Interior Health to enactment with the physicians who person resigned, and to perceive to their concerns.

B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne, pictured successful July, says Interior Health is moving to enlistee astir 12 ob-gyns from different jurisdictions pursuing the resignations of Kamloops-area doctors. (Mike McArthur/CBC)

"Those negotiations instrumentality spot astatine a table, not present successful this House, not during question period," she said.

"The precedence indispensable ever beryllium the patients, the families, the people," she added. "It is my anticipation of these physicians, it is my anticipation of Interior Health that they volition travel unneurotic to speech done these issues, to undertake the negotiations that are underway close now, holding the diligent astatine the centre of the enactment they do."

Speaking to CBC's On The Coast on Tuesday, SOGBC vice-president Dr. Chelsea Elwood, 1 of the letter's superior authors, said she thinks it's captious that the concerns of the Kamloops ob-gyns are heard.

"I deliberation that recognizing the information issues they've identified, recognizing that things that are impacting their burnout, recognizing the things that are impacting their recruitment and retention, and valuing their opinions and addressing those things volition beryllium capable to get them backmost to work," she said.

"But asking them to travel backmost into an unsustainable, unsafe enactment situation without due adjustments — it's not going to work."

She added that ob-gyns emotion their jobs and privation to proceed helping women and large radical successful B.C., but that they request to beryllium valued and supported successful their work.

Ob-gyns inactive invited to stay: Interior Health

Interior Health has said that the doorway remains unfastened for the resigning doctors to stay.

In an Oct. 20 statement, Mark Masterson, vice-president of medicine with Interior Health, said the physicians rejected the Ministry of Health's connection of a 25 per cent compensation summation earlier they resigned, but that the connection remains connected the table.

The radical of ob-gyns who resigned from Royal Inland Hospital successful Kamloops says they did truthful implicit utmost burnout, among different reasons. (Jenifer Norwell/CBC)

"We would invited the accidental to bring the funny physicians backmost to service patients astatine Royal Inland Hospital," Masterson said successful the statement.

Elwood said she believes the contented is astir much than compensation.

"I'm not alert of that number, but it indispensable person been beauteous significant, the information concerns and the burnout for them to say, 'Hey, we're done. We can't bash this,'" she said.

In a connection from the Conservative Party of B.C. connected Monday, absorption wellness professional Anna Kindy said, “We’re seeing a domino effect of healthcare services collapsing, and a authorities pretending it’s fine.... Burnout, unit shortages, unsustainable workloads, and bureaucratic mismanagement are pushing OB-GYNs to the brink."

More than 200 radical attended a rally successful Kamloops implicit the play organized by the newly-formed Maternity Matters Kamloops — a radical of advocates, health-care workers and parents — demanding contiguous enactment from the B.C. government.