Kamloops' largest maternity clinic set to close this summer

This story is part of Situation Critical, a series from CBC British Columbia reporting on the barriers people in this province face in accessing timely and appropriate health care.

Many expectant parents living in Kamloops, B.C. will have to make alternative birthing plans after the city's largest maternity clinic announced it is permanently closing this summer.

Dr. Shaun Davis, co-principal of Thompson Region Family Obstetrics Clinic (TRFO), says unless new staff can be found, the clinic is set to shut its doors this summer and isn't accepting any patients with due dates beyond July 31.

The news comes one month after one of two private midwifery clinics in the community, Sage Hills, announced its pending closure, as well, citing personal changes for its lead practioners.

TRFO, which is inside Royal Inland Hospital, is the largest source of birthing services in Kamloops, with a team of five doctors and two midwives.

But Davis says that number is down from previous years and staffing has been increasingly difficult.

"Thirty or 40 per cent of our shifts moving forward [aren't] covered and so we have to proactively make the plan to close the clinic," he said on CBC's Daybreak Kamloops.

Impact on potential parents

Karla Karcioglu, who received help from TRFO for giving birth to her first child two years ago, says she's worried about the impact the closure will have on people wanting to start or grow their families.

"I can only be left to imagine how difficult it's going to be to navigate the system on a future pregnancy, and how scary and hopeless that's starting to feel with our healthcare industry," she said.

"Among myself and my friends who were planning for future pregnancies, we are now having to take pause and reconsider our timelines."

TRFO says it helps deliver between 50 and 60 of the estimated 100 babies born each month at Royal Inland Hospital, and acknowledges the closure will cause problems for parents who were planning to use their services.

"[For] those women who are in early pregnancy up to 16 weeks at this point,  I would say [they] are gonna have nowhere to go," he said. "They're going to be relying on the already limited resources of Kamloops."

Davis recommends expectant parents seek help from family doctors, who have often been trained in how to manage basic pregnancy.

Province vows to train more midwives

On Friday, the B.C. government announced it was investing new money in the midwifery program at the University of British Columbia.

Selina Robinson, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, said during a press event the school will start getting $1.7 million annually to pay for 20 new seats in the program, bringing the total annual intake to 48. 

Eight of the new seats are specifically marked for the Internationally Educated Midwives Bridging Program (IEMBP). The IEMBP enables midwives educated outside of Canada to become registered in B.C.

"Now, even more people will be able to access this educational experience and help even more British Columbians," said Robinson in a statement.

According to Robinson, B.C. has the highest number of midwife-assisted births in the country.

There are approximately 536 registered midwives in the province and midwifery services are covered by B.C.'s medical services plan. UBC is the only post-secondary institution where future midwives can be trained.

Jennifer Rice, Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health, said the additional 20 seats will help provide equitable access for expecting parents in rural and remote areas and First Nations communities.

"Midwives have always been caring for pregnant people, babies and their families in First Nations communities, but colonization and systemic racism in the health-care system have threatened this practice," said Rice in a statement.

Ten per cent of students in the UBC midwifery program self-identify as Indigenous.

Karcioglu said while she is glad to hear more training is coming, she worries it is too late for many in the community and across B.C.

"It [the province] is constantly reactive and it's behind," she said.