There hasn’t been much response to open letters from two prominent Yukon doctors about the state of health care and Whitehorse General Hospital.

Both Dr. David Storey, a semi-legendary figure in Yukon medicine over the last 50 years, and Dr. Alex Kmet, the president of the Yukon Medical Association (YMA), have sent very critical letters about the state of affairs to local media in the last two weeks.

Both have said something needs to be done to fix the problems in health care, and with Whitehorse General, which has been running over capacity in recent months.

Over the Discovery Day weekend, Kmet sent a second letter to The Yukon Star, once again criticizing the state of the Whitehorse hospital. He asks when the hospital will receive the infrastructure improvements it so badly needs.

“In 2018, a report titled ‘Whitehorse General Hospital: Surgical Services Renewal Project’ was completed,” Kmet writes.

“The report recommended a 20-year requirement of 4 Operating Rooms when accounting for population growth, aging demographics, waitlists, and backlogs. It recommended the 4 ORs be identical for consistency, flexibility and safety. It also outlined a requirement to significantly increase hospital infrastructure.”

Today, Kmet writes, “WGH has the only 2 ORs in the territory. It also has a flex room that can accommodate minor diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Since the report’s completion in 2018, the population of the Yukon has grown by over 6,000 people.

“Also, surgical service volumes increased from 2,617 in the 2017/182 year to 3,841 in the 2022/23 year. Despite the tremendous efforts of doctors, nurses, cleaning staff and booking clerks to step up and do more with the same, this strain is unsustainable, and patients are suffering as a result,” the YMA president writes.

NDP Leader Kate White has been the only party leader to comment on the issue.

“What really struck me about Dr. Storey’s letter was his explanation of the changes in health care, including the loss of half the beds at the Whitehorse hospital, and the loss of lifesaving services like hemodialysis,” White said Aug. 13.

“We’ve all felt the crunch, but having someone who has been there in a professional capacity throughout it all point out what we had before — and what we’ve lost — should be a real wake-up call that things have to change.”

The NDP provided an updated statement this morning.

“It’s deeply concerning that we continue to see health care professionals, throughout the system, sound the alarm,” White said.

“I echo Dr. Kmet and the YMA’s concerns around our surgical services, and I hear these same concerns from Yukoners.

“We are so grateful to all our health care professionals who are doing their best in this broken system,” White added.

“To solve this crisis, we need to listen to and hear from those working on the frontlines in the system — and we need to take action when they offer us solutions.”