The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is voicing concerns over performance-related salary increases awarded to senior officials at Interior Health (IH) during a physician shortage at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).
“People financing this through taxes should be alarmed by the culture at Interior Health that enables such decisions,” stated Carson Binda, the CTF’s B.C. director.
The hospital’s pediatric ward has shut down for over six weeks due to the lack of physicians, and the maternity clinic has stopped accepting new patients.
Doctors have publicly attributed these issues to poor management at IH, claiming that the staffing structure has been ineffective for years, leading to physician resignations.
This year alone, seven pediatricians left KGH, coinciding with performance pay increases for several top executives.
Global News discovered that in most cases, executives received a 6.7% pay raise; this includes Susan Brown, the CEO of IH.
With her increase, Brown’s total compensation has reached $472,607.
One executive even received a 12% raise due to a promotion this year.
Binda remarked, “It’s outrageous for bureaucrats to receive significant pay boosts when the healthcare system they oversee is crumbling.”
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“In any private organization, there would be layoffs, and nobody would be getting large performance raises,” he added.
In an email to Global News, IH’s board chair, Dr. Robert Halpenny, explained, “Salary levels and benefits, including executive pay, adhere to guidelines from the Health Employers Association of BC. These standards apply across all health authorities and allow for performance-based adjustments according to organizational goals, not conditions in specific departments.”
He further stated, “This year, we onboarded 4,433 new frontline staff in various roles—843 full-time, 628 part-time, and 2,962 casual. Additionally, we enhanced our physician workforce by adding 146 new doctors to Interior Health.”
Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission, Gavin Dew, has also raised concerns regarding the salary increases.
“The situation is deteriorating, and yet leadership is being rewarded for what appears to be failure,” Dew expressed.
Dew, along with two other Conservative MLAs, met with Brown last Thursday and is questioning whether the current leadership can address the issues, especially since Brown is set to retire at year’s end.
“I am not confident we can restore balance and functionality to Interior Health without significant changes,” he noted.
Dew recommended an expedited leadership transition and urged B.C.’s health minister, Josie Osborne, to take action.
“The Minister of Health must stop being silent on this issue,” Dew said. “She needs to act quickly. We cannot afford to wait.”
Global News did not receive a response from Osborne or her ministry regarding this matter.
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