B.C.’s Health Minister says he’s aware of nursing shortages facing Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

Adrian Dix says there’s significant demand for all healthcare positions and says the best way to address that is to train more staff in the Interior.

“We have significant pressures in terms of ER care, in hospital care. I think in the Interior there have been health science positions that have been open in many communities in the decades. I think one of the ways to address that is exactly what we’re doing, which is training more people in the Interior to work in the Interior,” Dix says.

“And that’s why we’re investing in advanced education in Kamloops, in Kelowna, in Williams Lake, in Prince George, in Fort St. John, in Terrace, etcetera.

He points out many communities are seeing an aging demographic, and there is significant demand to fill nursing positions in many hospitals.

“That change requires us to train and engage more people. And that starts, it seems to me, with opportunities for jobs in Indigenous communities as well, who have often not had the same opportunities to work in healthcare as other communities. All of us need to make that change, and I think the situation in Kamloops reflects that.”

Interior Health says it is in process of hiring nearly three dozen staff for the emergency room and intensive care unit at Royal Inland Hospital.