Interior Health continues to work with partners to stabilize existing services and design a future model of maternity care for Kamloops and the surrounding region. Together we provide the following update:
Patients requiring immediate care:
- Anyone in labour, or experiencing urgent pregnancy related concerns, should always present to their closest hospital, including Royal Inland Hospital (RIH).
- For information and assistance, patients may call 250-314-2635 to speak with RIH Labour and Delivery.
Hospital Maternity Services:
- Interior Health has secured full coverage of obstetrician on-call services at RIH.
- Dedicated efforts continue to recruit on-call coverage for low-risk deliveries with family practice physicians trained in obstetrics and midwives. We have full coverage for December and continue to work to obtain full coverage for January.
Recruitment:
- Recruitment of new specialist obstetricians remains active with eight candidates in different parts of the recruitment process.
- We are pleased to announce two new obstetricians have been recruited and are estimated to start in May 2026.
Care options in community:
Early Pregnancy Access to Care &Triage Clinic (EPACT):
- In partnership with the Department of Midwifery, Interior Heath has supported the expansion of EPACT utilizing the North Shore Primary Care Clinic. Two additional days per week (16 appointments) have been added, and plans are in place to add a third day in January.
- This clinic offers easy access for expectant individuals in the first and second trimester to receive initial pregnancy care including prenatal bloodwork and ultrasounds. No referral is required to access care at this clinic.
- EPACT provides complete first and second trimester care and supports referrals to another provider for late pregnancy care and delivery, as well as referrals to high-risk specialists as needed. EPACT also supports early postpartum care for mother and newborn up to six weeks following delivery.
- Together, we would like to acknowledge the support of the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation who funded equipment to support these rapid service expansion efforts.
- To book an appointment with EPACT, please call or text: 250-318-3861.
Family Practices and Community Health Centres:
- Community family physicians and midwives have increased primary care maternity services for patients from 30 weeks to term in collaboration with EPACT and Supporting Team Excellence with Patients Society (STEPS). Patients are referred to a family physician or midwife when community provider capacity is available.
Future Service Model Development:
- We are working on a new vision for an integrated, team-based approach to maternity care, which supports pregnant mothers and families throughout their pregnancies. This model brings together physicians, midwives, nurses, allied health professionals and community partners to provide seamless, patient-centered care.
- This future model of maternity services is being developed in collaboration with Interior Health, the Thompson Region Division of Family Practice, providers STEPS, EPACT and community partners.
- This vision is in the early days as further engagement with providers, patients and key community partners is required before implementing a future model of care.
- We appreciate the collaborative planning efforts of the dedicated and engaged community providers and partners who are designing our way forward – collectively, we will move forward to support a new model for local care for expectant families.
To support patients, a webpage has been developed which can be found here. Updates will be provided to the public as the situation changes.
