Try not to go into labour on Friday or Saturday.” That’s what soon-to-be mother of two Aurora O’Flanagan was told when she inquired about receiving care at Royal Inland Hospital after hearing seven obstetricians / gynecologists (OB-GYNs) had resigned, sparking anxiety during what is supposed to be a hopeful and exciting time in her life.

O’Flanagan said the only option she might have to deliver her son is to travel to Alberta, which she said didn’t feel like much of an option.

“He’s in the 97th percentile [in size] here and if this ends in an emergency C-section, not having someone able to do that here is a real fear,” she said.

O’Flanagan, who attended a rally held at Royal Inland Hospital on Oct. 25, has had no choice but to face Kamloops’ maternity crisis head-on.

She said when she first heard about the mass resignation, she wondered who would remain at the hospital to offer care should she need it.

“And then it comes out — that’s everybody,” she said.

On Oct. 11, seven OB-GYNs released a letter saying they had submitted their resignations for full scope obstetrics and gynecology practice, which includes gynecology surgical privileges at the hospital, saying they saw “no viable way forward.”

The group includes Drs. Hilary Baikie, Jennifer Kozic, Paula Lott, Erin Adams, Michael Hsiao, Rita Chuang and Christine Sutton.

According to the letter, the group resigned hoping their actions would “galvanize” Interior Health and the provincial government “to support the health of women in our community the way they deserve.”

The group cited safety issues related to a changing workload and an inability to recruit.

“We are saddened by the lack of support for women’s health provincially and devastated that we have come to this point in Kamloops,” the letter reads, pointing to what they see as systemic underfunding of women’s health care.

Less than a week later, the doctors’ voices were amplified in a big way. A group of 128 OB-GYNs from dozens of hospitals across B.C. signed their own letter of support.

“These physicians have long advocated for better access to care in Kamloops, yet despite years of engagement, their calls for change have been ignored,” that letter reads.

Support from those OB-GYNs extends beyond words, with a pledge attached to the letter stating the 128 will not participate in temporary coverage plans undertaken by Interior Health, nor in the supervision of new hires under the same working conditions.

For its part, Interior Health said it is working on a transition plan and will focus on recruitment to replace the doctors. In a statement provided to the Chronicle, IH said the Ministry of Health made a “generous contract offer” to the group before ultimately accepting their resignations and that the offer remains open to them and to new physicians who may come to Kamloops.

An Interior Health job posting for locum (temporary) OB-GYNs reads like a sales pitch for Kamloops, pointing to big city amenities, a dynamic arts community and a host of outdoor activities. The compensation listed on the posting is $7,117 per 24 hours.

But despite the benefits, the supporting OB-GYNs were critical in their letter of what they call a “reactive approach” by public officials.

“We urge the health authority and the Ministry of Health to abandon this reactive approach, acknowledge the systemic failures that led us here, and work in good faith with the Kamloops OB-GYNs to find a sustainable solution.”

Compounding the problem is the closure of the Thompson Region Family Obstetrics (TRFO) group, which announced in August the clinic they run would no longer be accepting new referrals.

TRFO cited critical staffing shortages, a lack of specialist care for high-risk patients and the resulting unsafe work environment as reasons for its closure.

The letter it sent to other care providers in the community includes a list of recommendations for those who are pregnant, including alternate resources, a list of tests and lab work to consider and other risks associated with pregnancy.

In response to the breaking medical system, a grassroots group called Maternity Matters has come together, putting forward six priorities as part of its urgent call to action.

The group is calling for a stabilization of staffing, a guarantee of continuous services at RIH (including 24/7 labour and delivery (including surgical obstetrics like C-sections), equity in access that means patients don’t have to travel hours to receive care, clear and timely updates on recruitment and service changes and accountability “in meaningful ways” for those who caused the crisis.

The group held a rally outside RIH on Oct. 25. Hundreds were in attendance.

“Urgent action is needed immediately to address this crisis or we will see fetal and maternal death in Kamloops. In 2025, that is unacceptable,” said Alix Dolson, who is one of several Maternity Matters organizers.

Another organizer for the group is Katie Neustaeter, also a Kamloops city councillor, who said the only thing that matters now is a solution.

“No matter how you eroded the system, no matter what failures led to today, fix it. And fix it now. It is long past time that this was fixed. It shouldn’t even be a public conversation,” Neustaeter said.

Calling the issue a unifying cause, Neustaeter said Interior Health and the provincial government are not fulfilling their responsibility to provide care.

“This didn’t happen because seven OB-GYNs said, ‘That’s it. We can’t handle it anymore.’ This came about over the course of years. A lack of investment, a lack of support, and quite frankly, a toxic culture within Interior Health has eroded the confidence of health care providers and patients alike,” she told the Chronicle.

Kamloops-Centre MLA Peter Milobar was also in attendance at the rally to show support to those in attendance and bring further attention to their cause.

“I’m certainly more than happy to do my part and elevate their voice provincially, but it’s really the grassroots group like this that makes the difference in driving the message home to government that we won’t stand for this as a community,” he said.

Milobar said the problem has been in the public eye for three or four years, but really it goes back even further, pointing to issues of burn-out and insufficient staffing levels.

“The province has been unwilling to deal with it and now we see it coming to a head,” he said.

Milobar called upon residents to write to Premier David Eby, sign petitions, and attend rallies.

Just days after the rally, on Oct. 27, Milobar broached the issue in the B.C. legislature, calling for answers from Minister of Health Josie Osborne.

Osborne first emphasized that anyone expecting an imminent birth should always present at Royal Inland Hospital to receive care there.

She said she expects Interior Health and the doctors who tendered their resignation to “be together at the table to work through some of these issues” and “hold the patient at the centre of the work they do.”