B. C.'s Interior's on-call orthopedic doctors are getting a pay reduction, which implies that patients will have to wait longer in queues.

According to the B. C. Interior Health Authority, the position of physicians operating on broken bones will be downgraded to Level Two from Level One.

Orthopedic doctors seem to be in agreement that timing is vital for proper healing of cracked bones. "If we don't get to them quickly, it can mean - losing your leg", said Dr. Steven Krywulak, an orthopedic from Kelowna.

The degradation in status of Interior's orthopedics has driven doctors to put a job action into practice. In protest, they are now splitting their time between various hospitals, which means that some patient will now have to take a trip to another hospital to get treatment.

The doctors, however, believe that their job action will not be detrimental to patients. What they are trying to achieve by doing this is in the public's notice.

Krywulak says that if other doctors are being remunerated and recognized at Level One, the orthopedics are only asking for a non-differential treatment.