Editorial cartoon of empty specialist chairs rolling away from a hospital corridor while a politician holds ceremonial scissors beside a cut ribbon
Cartoon: campaign ceremony meets the empty-chair specialist shortage.
If the local neurology service is at risk, patients deserve dates, coverage plans and accountability — not another photo-op.

Penticton patients have put a hard receipt on British Columbia’s health-care debate. PentictonNow reports that an open letter signed by neurology patients says all three neurologists at Penticton Regional Hospital have resigned and are expected to leave in the coming months.

According to that report, one physician is expected to leave in November 2026 and the other two in December 2026. If replacements or interim coverage are not in place, the warning is plain: a regional hospital serving South Okanagan patients could be left without in-hospital neurology coverage.

That is not an abstract campaign argument. Neurology patients include people living with seizure disorders, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke complications, nerve damage and other conditions where continuity of specialist care matters. The patient letter, as reported locally and summarized by Ground News, warns that vulnerable patients could be forced to travel hours for specialist appointments.

David Eby’s government cannot answer that with ribbon-cutting language. Interior Health recruitment material tied to Penticton Regional Hospital has been seeking two general neurologists. That may show the health authority knows there is a vacancy problem. It does not, by itself, tell patients who will see them in November, who will cover emergencies in December, or whether families will be pushed onto highways for care that used to be local.

The timing sharpens the accountability question. Elections BC’s 2026 calendar put advance voting from October 16 to 21 and Final Voting Day on October 24. While ballots are being cast, Penticton patients are being told, through local reporting, that an entire specialist service line may be walking out the door within weeks.

The fair question is not whether every resignation is the personal fault of one politician. The fair question is whether the NDP health system has a credible retention and replacement plan before patients feel the impact. If the answer is yes, Interior Health and the government should release the coverage schedule, locum plan, referral pathway, transfer protocol and expected travel burden now.

If the answer is no, voters should hear that too. A government that asks for another mandate on health care should not get to campaign on announcements while communities discover the operating reality through desperate patient letters.

Penticton’s neurology warning is the kind of record that cuts through slogans. A new clinic promise does not replace a specialist. A campaign backdrop does not restore a service. Patients need care close to home, and voters need the ledger before the ballot closes.

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