Made to travel during labour

A new Vernon mom forced to travel to Penticton while in active labour to deliver her baby is hoping to warn other expectant mothers of shortages in the maternity ward.

Kristen gave birth to her first child within the past month, and says she had no idea shortages would mean she would need to travel two hours to deliver her baby.

She met her midwife at Vernon Jubilee Hospital and then got bad news from the nursing team: she wasn’t going to be allowed to stay.

“If I had been just about to have [my baby] they would have kept me, because they wouldn't send anybody who was just about to have their baby,” said Kristen.

“But I wasn't far enough along, and they said there wasn't enough staff for me to safely stay there.”

Kristen said the staff helping her were lovely, but she was required to wait “a couple hours” while they figured out which hospital had room for her.

Kamloops, Salmon Arm and Kelowna were all unable to take her, forcing her to travel to Penticton.

"I like to be prepared for things, and that just wasn't even like on my list. That we would be sent like so far away when there's other much closer hospitals," said Kristen. "The fact that all of all of them were diverting was pretty crazy."

IH clinical operations executive director for the North Okanagan Chris Simms, confirmed VJH has seen temporary service interruptions.

"Interior Health understands the anxiety and frustration that can come with having to travel for maternity care, especially during such an important time as childbirth," said Simms in an email.

"We regret any inconvenience caused by these temporary service interruptions – our priority is the safety of expectant parents and babies when these do happen."

IH said the Vernon maternity ward would never fully close, but “there are periods when the required health care professionals are not on site.”

IH would not clarify how often that is happening.

Simms said specialized fields like obstetrics, maternity care are particularly struggling to staff operations – much like other health-care systems across the country.

“This has meant that some patients have needed to travel to other facilities such as Penticton, Kelowna, Salmon Arm or Kamloops for care,” said Simms.

“We are doing everything we can to stabilize and improve access to obstetric care in Vernon and the surrounding areas.”

It’s not the first time the maternity ward has made headlines for expectant mothers being forced to travel to other hospitals to deliver.

In the fall, a midwife told Castanet that IH was facing shortage of obstetricians and gynecologists at VJH.

When pushed for an update, IH said there are currently 4.5 full-time equivalent obstetricians working at VJH.

“All expectant families are still asked to present at Vernon Jubilee Hospital when needing urgent care so they can be appropriately triaged,” said IH in an email.

“If you are having your baby at VJH – present to the 4th floor of the Polson tower, Women’s and Children Health Services.”