Photo: Colin Dacre

Kelowna General Hospital's NICU stabilization room.

A group of physicians at Kelowna General Hospital have raised an alarm about their emergency ward's capacity for pediatric care in the months ahead amid staffing shortages.

"Pediatric physicians have been consistently working above maximum capacity for some time," Kelowna General Hospital's emergency physician group said in a statement issued late last week.

"Due to staffing shortages, access to pediatricians in the Emergency Department may be limited during certain dates through the rest of the calendar year."

There were no pediatricians scheduled for on-call Emergency Department consultations or admissions on April 13 and further service disruption dates are expected throughout the spring and summer.

The shortage means pediatric consultations and admissions to the pediatric ward will not be possible at KGH emergency department.

"While pediatricians from other centres in B.C. will be available by phone to give advice, a pediatrician will not be available to come and assess pediatric patients at the bedside at KGH ED," the doctor group said.

"This is a change from the current level of service provided at KGH on a regular basis."

Interior Health confirmed Kelowna General Hospital is experiencing a shortage of physicians specializing in pediatrics, which resulted in a 12-hour overnight service interruption on April 13.

This service interruption was specific to new consultations required in the emergency department, and did not impact the neonatal intensive care unit or labour and deliver patients.

"When these instances occur, individuals requiring care should still attend Kelowna General Hospital, where they will be assessed by an emergency room physician, and plans made for the most appropriate and safe care specific to each patient’s needs. In some instances, this may include a verbal consult to a pediatrician at an alternate facility, or in rare instances transportation to another hospital," Interior Health said in a staement.

"Extra staff were in place on April 14 to support patients who presented to the emergency department."

Health authority officials said they appreciated that any interruptions to normal pediatric services at Kelowna General Hospital are concerning to local residents and their priority is to maintain consistent coverage.

"Changes to normal services are made as a last resort after we have exhausted all options for coverage," the health authority statement.

"Our top priority, in all cases, is ensuring the safety of children and connecting them with the services they need."

Last September, doctors at Kelowna General Hospital advised the public of a pediatric physician shortage at the hospital's emergency department expected to cause “service disruptions” for patients.