Impending funding expiry for First Steps Early Pregnancy Triage Clinic brought forward during question period

KAMLOOPS — The uncertain future of the First Steps Early Pregnancy Triage Clinic in Kamloops was a topic during question period in the B.C. Legislature Tuesday (March 12) morning.

Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone pressed Premier David Eby and the New Democratic Party (NDP) government to end any funding uncertainty for the clinic immediately to ensure prenatal services are uninterrupted in Kamloops and area.

The First Steps Early Pregnancy Triage Clinic’s grant funding is set to expire at the end of March. The clinic is awaiting confirmation to learn whether its permanent funding request through Interior Health has been approved.

Health Minister Adrian Dix didn’t provide specifics towards the clinic’s funding, but mentioned the provincial government will continue to increase the number of doctors, nurses and health care services in Kamloops.

“We’ve been working on the issues around maternity care in Kamloops over the last year,” Dix says. “The very significant supports and investments have been put in place, both for doctors, for nurses, for midwifery, and we’re going to continue to act to support expectant mothers in Kamloops.”

In response, Stone mentioned similar funding issues and uncertainty transpired last year with the Thompson Region Family Obstetrics Clinic in Kamloops.

“Same issues, same minister, same robotic answer,” Stone says. “Since the First Steps Early Pregnancy Clinic opened in September 2023, nearly 400 expectant mothers from Kamloops and the surrounding communities have been able to receive the prenatal care that they need. This is all at risk for hundreds of expectant moms moving forward because the NDP government will not solve this funding issue today.”

The First Steps Early Pregnancy Triage Clinic was set up to respond to the number of unattached patients who have to go to the emergency room, or Royal Inland hospital’s Urgent Care Clinic for pregnancy care. At any given point, clinic lead Joanna Norman says First Steps has around 170 active patients using its service, up to around 20 weeks’ gestation.