The three Kelowna-area BC Conservative MLAs are urging Health Minister Josie Osborne to hear firsthand from frontline health workers struggling in what they call a full-blown crisis at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).
MLAs Gavin Dew (Kelowna–Mission), Kristina Loewen (Kelowna Centre), and Macklin McCall (West Kelowna–Peachland) are inviting the minister to a public town hall on July 2 to address what they describe as growing failures in local health care—from emergency delays to children’s services, and what they say is a lack of political accountability.
“Given the unprecedented crisis happening right now, the minister of health needs to look these people in the eye, actually listen to them, and convince them things are going to change,” Dew said in a media release.
Dew said the call to action comes after a recent tour of the KGH emergency department, where MLAs heard directly from staff.
“What we have all heard over and over is clear—confidence is shattered, morale is dangerously low, and people feel abandoned and unheard,” Dew said. “Minister Osborne has not set foot in KGH since becoming health minister.”
McCall said the situation isn’t just about a lack of staff — it’s about a lack of leadership.
“The people keeping KGH running deserve to have their voices heard,” he said.
Loewen pointed to system-wide problems and said the province has ignored warning signs.
“Doctors are going public because they’ve run out of options and they have no confidence there is a plan to fix this,” she added.
Dew said he also heard from KGH doctors that there is space for 36 beds in an unfinished area of the Centennial Building, which opened in 2012. It’s an issue he brought up in the Legislature in April, but added he has had no formal response from the health minister as to why the space is not being used.
“We don’t have a capacity problem – we have a crisis of political leadership by a government that doesn’t seem to care about our region because we don’t elect New Democrats,” Dew added.
The town hall will run from 5 to 7 p.m. at a location to be announced. Organizers say it will go ahead with or without the minister. Registration is now open through Eventbrite.
