Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Scheduling snafu leaves Dawson Creek, Fort St. John without a surgeon

Northern Health says it expects to have surgical services return to Fort St. John and Dawson Creek by early next week.

Northern Health says it expects to have surgical services return to Fort St. John and Dawson Creek by early next week.

The agency confirmed this week the two cities have been without a surgeon for some time due to an apparent, but rare, scheduling snafu caused by a mix of professional development and holiday leave.

"We happened to hit a window where all three were unavailable," said spokesman Steve Raper. "It's very rare, and something our VP of Medicine and our medical director are going to work with the surgeons on to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Two surgeons work out of the hospital in Fort St. John, with the third stationed in Dawson Creek.

Dawson Creek surgeon Dr. Andre Goetze is expected back starting Dec. 3, said Raper, with one of the two FSJ surgeons returning on Dec. 17. Raper couldn't say when the third surgeon was expected back.

For the time being, elective surgeries have been put on hold, and Raper noted those needing emergency surgery will be transferred to other hospitals under the regular patient transfer processes currently in place. Obstetric services are not affected, he said.

Still, Fort St. John resident Colin Waddell said he was stunned to learn the region would be temporarily without a surgeon when he tried to book an appointment to have his cancer-stricken wife's feeding tube replaced.

"If she has another serious side issue with this cancer treatment and there's no surgeon around, I don't know what the hell is going to happen. That's my biggest concern," he said.

Waddell said he and his wife managed to see a local surgeon in Fort St. John before they went on leave, but argued that the region should never find itself without surgical services, even if it means bringing in doctors from other cities to provide locum coverage.

"Accidents are bound to happen and surgeons are going to be needed," he said. "Our situation got resolved, but in our condition, anything can — and most has — gone wrong. I'd be very concerned of the fact there are no surgeons to take care of business."

Northern Health is currently recruiting a fourth surgeon for the region, said Raper, noting that will help with schedule issues in the future.

Northern Health would like to have the new surgeon in place sometime in the next year. Whether the surgeon would be located in Fort St. John or Dawson Creek is still to be determined, Raper said.