Expectant parents in the Kamloops and Prince George areas have been warned of possible disruptions in maternity care. Staffing challenges at obstetric departments at hospitals in both cities, mean those needing specialized care may have to seek treatment elsewhere in B.C., and the issue could take a while to resolve. Travis Prasad reports.
By Josh Azizi & Travis Prasad Global News
Posted July 26, 2025
When family doctors or midwives in northern B.C. encounter a high-risk pregnancy, they turn to the obstetrical specialists at Prince George’s University Hospital of Northern B.C.
The hospital is the only facility in the region that can handle complicated deliveries.
But starting in August, there won’t be enough specialists on hand, meaning some patients could be sent hundreds of kilometres away for care.
“Gaps in specialist coverage beginning in August 2025 have the potential to require service reductions, and there will be occasions where we may need to transfer you (at no cost to you) to another centre in the province to ensure the safety of you and your baby,” reads a statement shared by Northern Health from the hospital’s department of obstetrics.
B.C.’s official opposition in the legislature has raised concerns about the potential disruption.
“We can’t expect pregnant women to have to travel all the way to Kamloops, Kelowna or Vancouver to deliver a baby,” said B.C. Conservative MLA Kiel Giddens, who represents Prince George-Mackenzie.
“We need that basic standard of care here in northern B.C.”
B.C Health Minister Josie Osborne commented on the obstetrics specialist shortage at an unrelated news conference.
“The health authorities I know are doing everything they can to alleviate that strain to work with physicians and care teams to ensure services are there for people,” she said.
The specialist shortage adds to existing primary care gaps and emergency room closures that are hitting rural communities hard.
“Obstetrics is of additional concern, because we’re dealing now with two lives, that of a mother and a child,” said Paul Adams, executive director of the BC Rural Health Network.
Read the full article and watch the video here….
Additional Concerns – BC Rural Health Network
By Paul Adams, July 27, 2025
At the BC Rural Health Network, we believe in a soltions based approach. The solutions to these challenges will not be found in blame or political ideology. They will not come from pointing fingers at overstretched health authorities or burned-out professionals. The reality we face, in British Columbia and around the world, is that our healthcare systems need to be fundamentally redesigned to meet the needs of the 21st century.
We must confront some hard truths. There are not enough doctors, nurses, midwives, or support workers to meet the current demand. Those who remain are increasingly unwilling or unable to work under the relentless pressure caused by decades of mis-investment and outdated models of care.
Healthcare professionals today are right to seek balance in their lives. But when they are forced to work in conditions defined by staff shortages, long hours, and moral distress, many become jaded, exhausted, and disheartened. Compassion, the foundation of caregiving, becomes difficult to maintain. At the same time, patients wait longer, travel farther, pay more, and face greater risk, often without clear answers or support.
Both providers and patients are hurting. And both deserve better.
This is not about left or right. It is about doing what is right and to ensure nobody is left out.
British Columbians deserve a healthcare system that functions. That means building one that is sustainable and focused on people, not just professionals and infrastructure. An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure!
The BCRHN will be focusing on system design and new approaches and focusing on the additional challenges we face living in rural and remote commuities. We want to hear from you, your voice matters, tell us about your lived experience and solutions, email us info@bcruralhealth.org
