October 16, 2025 

We are writing to notify all of you that our entire group of 7 obstetrician gynecologists sees no way forward with in-hospital care for obstetrics in our community. We have submitted, and IHA has accepted, our resignations for full scope obstetrics and gynecology practice.

It is fairly unprecedented for an entire group of physicians to depart, but with the state of obstetrics in our community and with the upcoming loss of the TRFO group, we see no viable way forward. Hopefully, the near total loss of low and high risk obstetrics in Kamloops will galvanize IHA and the province to support the health of women in our community the way they deserve.

Safety issues due to changing workload and inability to recruit have over many years pushed us to a point where without sufficient IHA and provincial support we are unable to continue with inhospital care. While this crisis hinges on the challenges in obstetrical care provision in our community, we unfortunately must resign our gynecology surgical privileges as they are tethered to provision of obstetrical care.

The logistic aspects of tapering patient care during this time will be carefully coordinated. Many of us will continue in office outpatient gynecology work locally as we remain dedicated to the health of women in our community. We do not know exactly what this will look like. We will be working with IHA and the College of Physicians and Surgeons to ensure we are meeting all professional requirements. As this evolves, notification of phased withdrawal of in-hospital care and more detailed individual office plans will be sent out. Each surgeon will contact surgical patients on their waitlist directly to plan next steps for their management and care. We are committed to patient safety in this process as our number one priority.

We are saddened by the lack of support for women’s health provincially and devastated that we have come to this point in Kamloops. Royal Inland Hospital has done what they could within the constraints of the Health Authority and the Province in providing the best possible care to the women of our health region. We thank the RIH operations team for their efforts and support; we know they are just as disappointed as we are. Smaller centers have been struggling for a while. RIH is the first larger center to fold due to the systemic underfunding of women’s healthcare. We do not anticipate it will be the last.

Sincerely,

Dr Hilary Baikie, Dr Jennifer Kozic, Dr Paula Lott, Dr Erin Adams, Dr Michael Hsiao, Dr Rita Chuang & Dr Christine Sutton