COURTENAY, B.C.: Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay-Comox and Critic for Rural Health and Seniors Health, is demanding answers from Health Minister Josie Osborne after sending a formal follow-up letter warning that conditions at Comox Valley Hospital have worsened significantly since concerns were first raised with the Ministry last year.
On July 25, 2025, Day wrote to the Minister regarding systemic failures at Comox Valley Hospital, particularly in the Emergency Department and ICU. That letter was based on frontline testimony gathered through the Comox Valley Health Matters Initiative, screened through retired nurses and physicians, and distilled into 18 specific recommendations aimed at stabilizing care.
According to Day, the Ministry’s response at the time did not meaningfully address those recommendations.
“We warned the Minister in writing. We gave her concrete, frontline-informed recommendations. We made it clear that physician support was inadequate and that Internal Medicine doctors were already leaving,” said Day. “And yet the situation at Comox Valley Hospital has deteriorated further.”
Day says he has now been advised that, since that original letter was sent, Comox Valley Hospital has lost 6 Emergency Room physicians and 4 Internal Medicine specialists connected to ICU coverage.
“Those are not routine staffing changes. They are a warning sign of a system in deep distress,” said Day. “This is not a matter of government being caught off guard. It is a matter of being told clearly and early that the system was in trouble and failing to act with the urgency the situation required.”
In his follow up letter, Day also raised concerns that, after staff spoke out, the institutional response may have focused on identifying those who had raised concerns rather than addressing the problems themselves.
“If staff feared reprisal for speaking up about patient safety, that is deeply unacceptable,” Day said. “In any functioning healthcare system, workers who raise concerns should be heard and protected.”
Day is calling on the Minister to provide a full written accounting of what action, if any, was taken on the 18 recommendations submitted in July 2025, what immediate actions are now underway to stabilize Emergency, ICU, and Internal Medicine services, and what safeguards were put in place to protect staff from reprisal.
“The people of the Comox Valley deserve transparency, accountability, and immediate action before further damage is done,” said Day.
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