May: Kelowna General Hospital temporarily closes pediatrict unit
Published 5:00 am Friday, December 26, 2025
Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) closed its pediatrics in patient unit on May 26, which left many families concerned across the Okanagan.
Dr. Hannah Duyvewaardt, a parent and emergency room doctor at KGH, told Black Press that for the last few years, pediatricians in Kelowna have been asking for more positions to be opened in the hospital to relieve the pressure on the sole on-call physician, so they can provide better care to sick children.
Just two days after the closure started, local politicians voiced their concerns during a sitting of the B.C. Legislature.
“When front-line physicians feel they must publicly speak out about health system failures, it means internal communication has failed, and the Ministry of Health has stopped listening,” said Kelowna Centre MLA Kristina Loewen to Health Minister Josie Osborne.
In a statement to Black Press, Interior Health executive medical director of community and maternity, Dr. Hussam Azzam, confirmed that the health region had made temporary changes to pediatric care at KGH, stating the closure was due to limited physician availability.
Dr. Duyvewaardt, however, assured all parents and guardians that emergency room care for their children will not be impacted, as ER doctors and nurses are trained to care for children.
“Medical staff have clearly reported that the issue is not a lack of doctors, but an unsustainable work environment where pediatricians are pressured to simultaneously cover psychiatric care for children, emergency consults, neonatal intensive care, and high-risk deliveries…With only one specialist on call at a time,” said the B.C. Conservative Party in a statement after Minister Osborne was questioned.
Dr. Azzam and Osborne said back in May that Interior Health was actively looking to recruit pediatricians to Kelowna and had incentives in place to entice visiting specialists.
IH annouced that all pediatric services at KGH, including the pediatric inpatient unit, reopened Aug. 15. It was also annouced at this time that three new pediatricians would be joining the team between September and November.
