CEO Susan Brown/File photo

By Vernon Matters Staff

Mayors warning ignored

Conservatives demand leadership change at Interior Health

Jun 19, 2025 | 5:26 PM

Conservative critics are renewing calls for urgent action after a letter dated September 14, 2022, from five Thompson-Okanagan mayors revealed serious concerns about Interior Health’s leadership and staffing issues, concerns they says were reportedly ignored by then Health Minister Adrian Dix.

The letter, now public for the first time, outlined problems including chronic understaffing at Kelowna General Hospital, emergency department closures, poor communication from senior Interior Health leaders, and insufficient funding for complex care.

Kelowna-Mission MLA Gavin Dew said, “The mayors raised red flags, but the NDP government chose to ignore them—and now the system is collapsing. Pediatric units are shut down because Interior Health has failed to retain staff, and leadership remains unaccountable.”

He added, “It’s clear this isn’t just an Interior Health problem — it’s a symptom of a larger, systemic failure across B.C.’s health system that demands immediate leadership changes.”

Dew called for Interior Health President Susan Brown to resign and urged Health Minister Josie Osborne to take decisive action.

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Health Minister responds

In a statement to Vernon Matters Health Minister Josie Osborne said, in part, as a former mayor, she knows how critically important it is to engage with and listen to mayors and local leaders.

She said the input of mayors is invaluable and she has already spoken directly to the Mayor of Kelowna about the situation at Kelowna General Hospital.

“I also wanted to be clear: our government has made significant progress in strengthening healthcare in the Interior since 2022, ” she added. “Despite a global shortage of healthcare workers, Interior Health has hired 1,740 net new staff in 2024 alone. And we recently launched a new gynecological oncology program for the region, so people have access to specialized cancer care closer to home.”

Along with getting wait times for radiation therapy down, she said the government has also upgraded hospitals with additional MRI and CT machines, more in-patient beds, and new operating rooms.”