'Last resort': Fraser Health diverts White Rock maternity patients to other hospitals
Fraser Health staffing shortages could lead to some logistical issues for maternity patients in some of the region’s hospitals.
Maternity patients at White Rock’s Peach Arch Hospital will be diverted to other hospitals from Jan. 8 to 12, due to a lack of obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNS) staffing.
Both Peace Arch and Ridge Meadows hospitals have faced maternity diversions, as Fraser Health struggles with an OB-GYN shortage.
“As a last resort, when physicians are unavailable to fill the gaps in the obstetrics/gynecology schedule, we implement a maternity diversion to support safe, interrupted care for our patients,” reads Fraser Health’s website.
This is “due to the recent, unexpected departures of OB-GYNs at Ridge Meadows and Peace Arch Hospitals,” resulting in some physician shifts remaining uncovered.
Fraser Health notes that across the province, hospitals are seeing a growing demand for specialized OB-GYN care, due to fewer family doctors who offer maternity care and fewer midwives offering healthcare through pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. At the same time, maternity cases are becoming more complex.
“We recognize that this temporary maternity diversion may introduce added stress during a deeply important and often busy time for expectant parents and their families,” said Dr. Jason Burrows and Dr. Darren Lazare, co-program medical directors of Fraser Health’s maternal infant child youth program, in a statement sent to Daily Hive.
“We apologize sincerely. Please know that our dedicated maternity care teams remain committed to supporting families every step of the way, prioritizing the health and well-being of both parent and baby,” they added.
Fraser Health says they are “working hard” to find OB-GYNs for the two hospitals, and that they’ve hired one physician at Peace Arch who will join the team this spring.
“In the meantime, we are working closely with our physician groups at both hospitals to actively recruit locum physicians to address service gaps,” it reads on their website.
Future maternity diversions are “dynamic,” according to Fraser Health.