Kelowna Conservative MLAs Demand Action Following Pediatric Closure at Kelowna General Hospital
“As a Kelowna parent, I find it deeply troubling that pediatric care is being reduced in one of the province’s fastest-growing regions. Even as the NDP run victory laps on health recruitment, mismanagement is driving away frontline professionals.”
-Gavin Dew, Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission
Kelowna, BC – Kelowna Conservative MLAs are demanding immediate action following the abrupt six-week closure of the pediatric inpatient unit at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH). The closure period commenced on May 26, 2025, in a decision that left health professionals and families across the region deeply concerned.
According to emergency physicians and pediatric specialists at KGH, frontline staff were blindsided by the announcement. Multiple doctors have since spoken out, describing this shutdown as the tipping point in an ongoing staffing and safety crisis.
MLA for Kelowna Centre Kristina Loewen stated: “When frontline physicians feel they must publicly speak out about health system failures, it means internal communication has failed and the Ministry of Health has stopped listening.”
Medical staff have clearly reported that the issue is not a lack of doctors, but an unsustainable work environment where pediatricians are pressured to simultaneously cover psychiatric care for children, emergency consults, neonatal intensive care, and high-risk deliveries… With only one specialist on call at a time.
While Interior Health officials insist that emergency and neonatal services remain open, KGH physicians are warning that the public are being misled about the capacity to safely manage health events and emergencies.
MLA for Kelowna–Mission Gavin Dew added: “As a Kelowna parent, I find it deeply troubling that pediatric care is being reduced in one of the province’s fastest-growing regions. Even as the NDP run victory laps on health recruitment, mismanagement is driving away frontline professionals.”
Interior Health confirmed the pediatric unit will remain closed for six weeks due to over 100 unfilled shifts and staffing shortages. Only six pediatricians are presently covering duties meant for double that number, while remaining specialists have been reassigned to neonatal intensive care and deliveries.
Conservatives are calling on the NDP government to:
1. Listen to frontline health professionals
2. Work to restore full pediatric services at KGH
3. Disclose pediatric staffing levels across Interior Health
4. Implement workplace reforms to prevent burnout and specialist departures
5. Audit pediatric care capacity in high-growth regions like the Okanagan
6. “This is what a health system on the verge of collapse looks like,” concluded Macklin McCall, MLA for West Kelowna-Peachland. “The NDP are failing to match sufficient health services with population growth in the Okanagan and have proven they are content to leave Kelowna children paying the price.”
The Conservative Party of British Columbia will continue to hold the government and Interior Health accountable for the breakdown in planning, communication, and leadership that led to this disruption.
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