More concerns are being raised about Royal Inland Hospital (RIH). The hospital is facing numerous challenges, including four COVID-19 outbreaks.
The Mayor of Kamloops is now speaking out and demanding answers from Interior Health.
“Council is hearing a lot from the community about the concerns at RIH,” said Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian. “It is really outside of our wheelhouse, but it is concerning, and we have reached out to Interior Health to get some explanations.”
According to Christian, only three of the nine operating rooms at RIH are running and elective surgeries have been cancelled.
Jackie Paul is a patient at RIH and she says that she has been waiting for an operation for weeks that keeps getting postponed.
“I am watching my leg turn black and this place is full of COVID,” she said. “Losing my leg isn’t the priority. I am not a priority here.”
She posted an emotional plea from her hospital bed, saying, “nurses, doctors and patients at Royal Inland Hospital, we need help.”
“The situation is disturbing,” said Christian. “There are countless stories just like Jackie’s.”
He added that the hospital consistently operates above capacity and is around 117-per cent capacity as of Monday. Each day the emergency room receives over 200 cases and the hospital is severely understaffed.
“Unfortunately, this is the reality of the situation as we work our way through the pandemic. Royal Inland seems to be taking the brunt of it within the B.C. hospital system,” Christian said.
Between Nov. 3 and Nov. 17, there were 82 scheduled surgeries postponed in Interior Health. The majority of the delays were between RIH and Kelowna General Hospital.
Christian is set to meet with B.C.’s Health Minister Adrian Dix this week, to find solutions to the health-care crisis at RIH.
Global News reached out to Interior Health, but we did not receive a response.
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