By ROY WOOD
A dozen or so people gathered at Gyro Park on Friday afternoon for what was billed as a rally to protest the inadequacy of health care services in the South Okanagan.
Organizer Marilyn Muldoon said in an interview that she and her Residents for Healthcare group are “hoping to send a colourful message to Interior Health (that) people are fed up with ER closures.”
At issue is the occasional temporary closure of the emergency room at the South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH) in Oliver. The most recent was last Friday night when it shut its doors for 14 hours because there was no available doctor.
Muldoon invoked the name of Dr. Peter Entwistle, former chief of staff at SOGH and independent candidate in the recent provincial election.
“Dr. Entwistle says this has been going on for five years and needs to be dealt with,” she said.
Muldoon added that Entwistle and her organization believe the solution to the situation is for Interior Health to hire emergency room specialists to cover the department at least part of the time. Currently, SOGH depends on general practitioners from Oliver and Osoyoos to staff the ER.
Muldoon pointed out that when the Oliver ER is closed, residents of Osoyoos have to travel more than 60 kilometres to the Penticton Regional Hospital for emergency care.
She said the gap in emergency health care in the South Okanagan is a potential deterrent for both potential new residents and tourists.
The Residents for Healthcare agenda goes beyond just ER services and advocates for more doctors in Osoyoos and for the establishment of a walk-in medical clinic in the town.
The group appeared before Osoyoos council in the spring suggesting the physician shortage has placed local residents in a “panic situation.” The presentation urged council to hire a recruiter to help find more doctors for the town.
The small but enthusiastic crowd at Friday’s rally listened attentively to the address from Muldoon, who was joined on the Gyro stage by fellow organizer Gaye Horn. Several passersby who apparently stopped to investigate the commotion joined the protesters.