The emergency department at South Okanagan General Hospital recently underwent a temporary change in service due to a limited number of physicians. File photo
(The following is a partial transcript of a debate in the legislative assembly outlining a concern about emergency room closures at the Oliver hospital (introduced by New Democrat MLA Jennifer Rice).
Rice: There is a health care crisis in rural B.C., and it involves not just unacceptable wait times for surgical treatments.
The depth of the crisis is so severe that they’re actually closing down emergency rooms in hospitals. Just this (past) weekend in Oliver, the ER at South Okanagan General Hospital was closed both Saturday night and Sunday night due to the doctor shortage.
What is the Minister of Health going to do to fix the ER closure for the people of Oliver?
Hon. T. Lake: This is always rich, coming from the NDP that, in the ’90s, decided the way to manage health care was to restrict the number of doctors practising.
(Interjections)
Hon. T. Lake: We have over double the number of physician-training opportunities in the province of British Columbia. We have a multiple of 10 times the number of IMG, international medical graduate, resident spaces in the province of British Columbia.
We have practice-ready assessments for physicians that have been practising in other countries to welcome them into British Columbia.
If the NDP government in the ’90s had done that, we’d have 1,000 more doctors in the province of British Columbia today.
Rice: In January, the people of Oliver were warned that there’d be no doctor available to assess them at their local emergency room after midnight. Then this weekend their ER was actually closed for two nights running. In Boundary-Similkameen, it’s getting harder to go to school, and it’s dangerous to get sick. We’ve seen this government’s lack of response to the education crisis in Osoyoos.
What is the health minister going to do to fix the ER problem in Oliver?
Hon. T. Lake: I know the hospital in Oliver is an amazing hospital. I’ve been there and visited with them, and they do amazing work. But the challenge for many rural areas — not just in British Columbia, all over North America — is the attraction of physicians and other health professionals.
We have more physicians per 100,000 people in the province of British Columbia than we ever have. However, the population is changing.
The profession is changing. It is a challenge to meet all of the demands of that population.
