After several days of disruptions, Squamish General Hospital has resumed all maternity services.
Vancouver Coastal Health announced on July 7 that all had returned to normal on Monday, after three days when what they called a limited number of patients were deferred to alternate hospitals to deliver their babies.
This forced some to face the prospect of travelling down to the Vancouver area to receive such care.
“VCH remains committed to ensuring pregnant and labouring individuals and their families have a positive, compassionate and respectful experience while receiving care at SGH,” reads a new release from the authority. “VCH is actively exploring and implementing a wide range of measures to ensure patients continue to receive consistent quality health care across our hospital sites. This includes targeted recruitment strategies and ensuring appropriate specialist medical coverage is available to meet both patient volume and complexity.”
Previously, elected officials and community members had criticized the province and VCH for the disruption, pointing to long-term problems with affordability and funding in the Sea to Sky.
Many healthcare workers cannot afford to live in the area, leading to short-staffing problems, they said.
It’s necessary to give those workers breaks that would make Squamish an affordable place for them to stay and work.
