Kamloops hospital midwives resign en masse, citing ‘extreme’ burnout

A group of ob-gynologists at Kamloops’ only hospital are citing “extreme physician burnout” and “the obligation to be in two places at once” as reasons for resigning from their positions earlier this month.

On 11 October, all seven midwives at the Royal Inland Hospital announced that they were Resigning your hospital privileges – which means they will no longer provide hospital care during labor, delivery and caesarean sections.

At the time, doctors had cited safety issues due to increased workload and difficulty in recruiting more physicians as the reason for their mass departure, but now, the group is clarifying what led to their drastic steps.

In a media statement released on Monday, the group says it is concerned about four main issues: simultaneous call and surgical shifts, struggles to recruit more midwifes, inconsistent time off to perform midwifery, which means they can’t do gynecological work, and burnout – likely a result of the first three points, and more.

Doctors say they sometimes work up to 80 hours per week, and are often forced to cover two or more 24-hour call shifts per week – working up to 48 hours without sleep.

In the statement, the midwives say they have raised their concerns with the Ministry of Health and the Interior Ministry over the past five months.

Mark Masterson, Interior Health’s vice president of medicine, said in an email statement that the health authority offered the group a 25 percent increase in compensation — to $700,000 annually — but their offer was rejected.

One interior health job posting Compensation for a Locum Obstetrician position in Kamloops is $7,117 per 24 hours, plus after-hours premium.

Masterson also said Interior Health did not ask midwives to work emergency calls and surgical shifts simultaneously.

“The group had the autonomy to schedule itself and chose that model of care. Interior Health supported proposals that separated surgical support from obstetrics and gynecological on-call coverage.”

Health Minister Josie Osborne said Interior Health is actively working to recruit more midwives, adding that they are in talks with “at least a dozen” physicians about potential employment.

She said she’s encouraging the health authority and the physician group to “keep talking.”

“We want safe, supportive workplaces for every type of physician or health care worker in hospital settings in the Royal Inland and throughout British Columbia.”

Launch of advocacy group

A grassroots group that formed in the wake of the resignations is now demanding action from the health authority and the provincial government to ensure that obstetrics and gynecological care at the Royal Inland Hospital is not at risk.

The group, Maternity Matters Kamloops, is made up of local advocates, birth workers, parents and others.

Spokeswoman Alix Dolson said people needing prenatal and maternity care are struggling to find adequate, local care providers.

However, Osborne stressed that despite these recent resignations, people will still be able to get appropriate care when they need it.

“I want to reassure pregnant people, families that they will be looked after in the hospital at the time of delivery or if they are facing a high-risk delivery.

“Patient safety always comes first.”

Dolson acknowledged the situation is symptomatic of the health-care system across the province, which is hanging by a thread as health officials and provincial agencies are stressed about recruiting doctors, nurses and other care providers.

“We need to recruit and retain midwives, but we also need to focus on the whole spectrum of maternity care – and that includes GPs,” Dolson said.

“We need to focus on midwives and maternity nurses and all these different parts of the system that work together to create a collaborative care model, because we know collaborative care models best support families.”