Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops struggling at 117% capacity

There’s no question that times are tough at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

On Saturday, it was operating at 117% of capacity, with a good number of patients suffering from COVID-19, Health Minister Adrian Dix said at a news briefing today, Sept. 13.

“On Saturday, there were 32 people with COVID-19 at the hospital, which is a very significant number,” he said. “A significant subset of that, I believe, 13 at that time were in critical care so those are significant challenges facing the hospital.”

There are 1,037 health care workers at the hospital, but in August 13 nurses left employment. Ten went to work in other Interior Health Authority jobs but three left the area or retired.

Interior Health did announce some additional staffing over the weekend but the challenge continues, Dix said.

READ MORE: Interior Health hires more nurses to address staffing shortages at Kamloops hospital

As other, smaller hospitals in the region have reduced services, that’s put more pressure on Royal Inland Hospital. There is a new tower under construction but it won’t open until next year.

“I encourage, everyone in Kamloops, to respond to this,” Dix said. “A portion of this is COVID-19 so it’s really important that people get vaccinated.”

About 83 per cent of Kamloops residents are vaccinated, he said.

READ MORE: Here’s how to get your B.C. COVID-19 vaccination card

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