Nicola Robinson’s son Matthew is an “incredibly active” eight-year-old who loves playing soccer, hockey, and baseball.
Without surgery to correct a club foot, however, chances are Matthew would have had to watch those games from the sidelines. Now his mother is worried that other children in Delta won’t get the essential help they need when they need it.
The only paediatric orthopaedic surgeon at Royal Columbian Hospital has announced she’s leaving at the end of this month.
Fraser Health says it’s in the process of finding a replacement, but recruiting another surgeon who specializes in issues such as club feet, scoliosis and hip dysplasia won’t be easy.
Across the country “we’re seeing real gaps for trained health professionals, including surgeons,” says Emily Gruenwoldt, president and CEO of Children’s Healthcare Canada. What’s unique in children’s health is that there’s an even smaller pool of highly specialized providers and there are challenges recruiting to that pool.
“Children’s healthcare providers are paid less than adults healthcare providers,” even though in some cases they require more training, Gruenwoldt says. “It gets to this bigger issue that we’ve underfunded children’s health and children’s health care providers for decades. And now we’re seeing the consequences of that…. When an orthopedic surgeon in your region leaves there’s no one to fill his or her place.”
Since children’s bones are always in process of growing, there’s a very specific window in which surgery and corrective measures should take place. Gruenwoldt says “children who don’t receive a particular surgery within that window can have all sorts of complications. They might be in pain as they’re waiting for surgery, they might not be able to attend daycare or school. They might also have compromised outcomes — they might walk with a limp for the rest of their life or have to use an assistive device.”
Fraser Health says it’s working with BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver to provide care in the interim. But Robinson says that’s not acceptable in the largest healthcare region in the province. She says the surgeon at BC Children’s does not offer the type of surgery that she and some other parents prefer and it’s important for children to have a continuum of care with the same specialists.
She helped lead the fight to hire the surgeon who’s now leaving because “having to constantly wait was really impeding my son’s ability to have just normal childhood experiences.”
Little more than two years later, she’s ringing the alarm bells again because she wants to make sure other children get the care, they need close to home.
“Imagine being a brand-new mother and then you also have [your child’s medical needs to deal with],” Robinson says. “You’re already tired and overwhelmed. To not know who is caring for your child, with the other worries that you have for your child it is a lot. It’s not fair.”
