A surgical rehabilitation department at Kelowna General Hospital. A top surgeon at Kelowna General Hospital is grateful the city has two more operating rooms, but is skeptical they will make a significant difference to the local surgery backlog. Dr. Steven Krywulak, KGH’s chief of orthopedic surgery, says hospital capacity and staffing remain a huge challenge with no easy solution. “It’s good, but they have to open [the operating rooms] with funding for beds,” he said, explaining that the hospital is operating at 120 percent capacity “every day right now” despite the lull in COVID activity. When the hospital is so full, surgeries end up being canceled regularly simply because there is nowhere for patients to recover. While surgeries are being done daily at KGH, there remains a large backlog which actually worsened slightly between Christmas and June, the surgeon said. Krywulak said “a couple” surgeries in Kelowna are closed for the summer due to staffing constraints. “The government wanted us to exhaust it. We said we just can’t do it, because the nurses are burnt out and they don’t take holidays.” While respiratory illnesses slow down in the summer, better weather brings an increase in trauma injuries as people go outdoors and drink more alcohol. The hospital was supposed to increase its 14 operating theaters in September, which “has been a challenge for staff.” At a press conference Monday, Health Minister Adrian Dix was asked if the new operating rooms — two at KGH and three at Royal Inland in Kamloops — will be staffed. “It is our expectation that we will be able to meet the testing of new personnel required at the site,” Dix replied. “The short answer is we need to bring in more surgeons, more surgical nurses, and obviously the pre- and post-operative side of the system gets stretched when you’re doing thousands of other surgeries — you need more people to perform those surgeries.” Krywulak says in Kelowna the hospital is blessed with plenty of surgeons and anesthesiologists, but it needs the nurses and support staff that make the operating rooms work. And even if that staff can be hired, hospital bed capacity will remain an issue. “Every day, I get a report and it says the hospital is at 120%. “And what if we start doing more surgeries? And then we have another outbreak of COVID … it’s going to affect the hospital.” “My opinion is that if the hospital is at 120% every day, you need 20% more beds.” Krywulak says there’s an entire floor of the KGH Centennial building, 6 East, that’s never been developed, but Kelowna’s rapid growth probably should soon. But he admits there is no silver bullet. “If you’re in the position of government, I’m not sure exactly how you fix this problem. Nurses don’t grow on trees,” she said. “And you know, at least if they’re trying to open ORs, that shows some commitment to try to do more surgeries, to try to get things done.” “The NDP for all their failings, they have a commitment to health care and they are trying to get things done. I just don’t know if we’ll get much out of it. But that remains to be seen.” The two new surgeries are expected to open next year.
