MLA’S Laurie Throness and John Martin say they continue to raise concerns about the shortage of obstetricians in Chilliwack, which is leading to the diversion of expectant mothers to Abbotsford Regional Hospital.

The Chilliwack-area MLAs have held discussions with Petra Pardy, head of Chilliwack’s hospital; Lorraine Jenkins, Executive Director of Maternal Child and Youth for Fraser Health Authority; and Victoria Lee, CEO of Fraser Health.

“We have let the FHA leadership know that our community expects service equal to that of any other Lower Mainland community, and were informed that officials have been working to mitigate the situation,” says Chilliwack-Kent MLA Laurie Throness.

The three-month diversion has been reduced to four intermittent weeks spread over the summer beginning on June 24, and this may be reduced even more. There is a call out for ‘locums’ province-wide, and a permanent position for a new obstetrician for Chilliwack has been posted.

“We are confident Fraser Health is keenly aware of the concerns of our community,” says John Martin, MLA for Chilliwack. “We will work with them to make sure that Chilliwack Regional Hospital offers the best possible service to expectant families.”