Health authorities warn of potential maternity care reductions

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.

In Kamloops, physician shortages are now stretching Royal Inland Hospital’s maternity department, with impacts expected through August.

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A public service announcement from Interior Health says patients without a primary or maternal care provider may be transferred from RIH to other hospitals for delivery if they require specialized care or their care history is unknown.

“If somebody does not have a care provider they will still be assessed and determined if in active or inactive labour,” said Pete Bosma, executive medical director for Interior Health North.

“There are some scenarios where patients may be sent out, but it just depends on how they’re presenting at the time.”

Locums are being pulled from other regions to cover gaps.

Adams says the service cuts put pressure on smaller communities that rely on hospitals in Kamloops and Prince George, exposing an outdated, urban-focused system.

“As we go through things like primary care reform [and] rebuilding system designs, we can’t keep using the same old horse and buggy approach to health care,” he said

These latest disruptions come not long after some pediatric services returned to Kelowna General Hospital, following a seven-week closure.