Gavin Dew, MLA Kelowna-Mission is flanked by Kristina Loewen, MLA Kelowna Centre and Macklin Mccall, MLA West Kelowna-Peachland, outside KGH Monday/ submitted

By Vernon Matters Staff

health care criticism

Local MLAs decry ‘health care in crisis’

Jun 23, 2025 | 4:19 PM

Local Conservative Party MLAs delivered a very public unified message about what they say is a crisis in the region’s health care.

On Monday, June 23, Gavin Dew, Kristina Loewen, and Macklin McCall – standing near the Kelowna General Hospital E-R – pointed to staffing shortages, a breakdown in leadership, and growing public concern as evidence that they claim shows the current approach to health care governance is no longer acceptable.

Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission , said local health care workers have been sounding the alarm for months but claimed said Health Minister Josie Osborne won’t show up to talk to front-line workers.

The three MLAs are planning a Kelowna Health Care Crisis Town Hall next week .

In a statement, Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission, said:

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“In a radio interview this morning, the Minister of Health, Josie Osborne, walked back the 6-week pediatric closure timeline. She won’t even show up to talk to front-line workers. What we’re seeing from this Health Minister is a continuation of the top-down mismanagement of health care that got us here in the first place. Health care workers have been sounding the alarm for months. Now, patients are suffering – and the only response from Victoria has been silence or spin.”

Kristina Loewen, MLA for Kelowna-Centre, said the public statements from frontline doctors mark a turning point. “It takes a lot for a physician to break ranks and speak publicly. When that happens, it means the system behind closed doors has collapsed. The people we trust to care for us no longer trust the people making decisions.”

“We are one of the fastest-growing regions in the province, and the care is going in the opposite direction,” Macklin McCall, MLA for West Kelowna-Peachland, said. “We don’t need more promises. We need action, which starts by listening to our community and frontline professionals.”

The Kelowna Health Care Crisis Town Hall will be held at the Capri Hotel from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 2.