2367 replies to this topic

[LJ]

Time for people to actually pick up the phone or write Horgan and tell him he has lost their vote and this needs to get fixed today. Stop screwing around with Woke Plans for medicine and just damn well pay GP more, more than they can get in the US for that matter. Suck it up and stop with all the social engineering.

Didn't he offer them $295,000 for the first year, signing bonus and loan forgiveness? Is that a bad offer?

 

Would they still get the per patient visit pay?

 

Would it be better to pay for all their office expenses and clerical staff?

[Barrrister]

In short not a great offer considering that expenses of an office eat  upa large portion. Less thah than they make in Alberta and a lot less than the US.I would be curious to know how many sign onto this offer. 

 

 

I thought I read that it was a five year contract not one.  If anyone has the precise details maybe they can post since the devil is in the details.

[JohnN]

Editorial: Change the rules on referrals to physician specialists

 

Times Colonist June 23

 

Patients can only see a specialist if they are referred by their family physician, and the need for additional referrals every six months serves only to render the system needlessly complex, our editorial board writes.

[Victoria Watcher]

People calling 911 for an ambulance were on hold up to several hours over the weekend, delays reminiscent of last summer and fall, when improvements and new hires were promised by the provincial government, says a dispatcher.

 

“It got better slowly for a while and this weekend it felt like we’d slipped back to zero,” the dispatcher said Monday. The Times Colonist has agreed not to use the dispatcher’s name or gender because the person fears reprisals for speaking out.

 

B.C. Emergency Health Services said its ambulances responded to a total of 698 calls on Vancouver Island on the weekend.

 

There are typically about 1,465 calls each day to 911 for ambulances in B.C., but on Saturday there were 1,637.

 

“At one point, we had 11 call takers — normal staffing being 20 to 25 on any given day — taking 911 calls for the province and 22 calls were waiting,” said the dispatcher. “Each of them were on the phone and had two more calls waiting for each of them.”

 

An electronic screen at B.C. Emergency Health Services’ dispatch centre shows the number of calls waiting.

 

 

https://www.timescol...-delays-5524980

[Victoria Watcher]

Horgan’s challenge: Fix our health care

I recently lost my wife to cancer. With the rare exception, all of the doctors, nurses and specialists we encountered are kind and compassionate people doing terrific work. The overnight nurse in the emergency department at the Royal Jubilee Hospital is a gem.

The health-care system itself needs a lot of work. Here we have a lovely woman, in pain and extremely exhausted, being shunted from one specialist to the next, and each specialist requires another blood test, MRI, etc.

And each test requires a wait or an appointment, to the point where my wife needs support just to sit in a chair. This isn’t just inefficient, it’s cruel. We don’t treat our pets like this.

So I say to Premier John Horgan, before you step in another steaming cow patty, why don’t you hire some very talented systems analysts who will be completely independent of the health-care system?

Let them have a go at this, and follow their recommendations. If you are looking for a lasting legacy of your time in office, get this fixed.

Bert Vandenberg
Victoria

https://www.timescol...c-parks-5524973

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 June 2022 - 04:08 AM.

[lanforod]

^ that is a very good point. There is a lot of waste of testing; it seems to me it'd be better, more efficient, and ultimately more cost effective to overtest at once in one location than to do a series of tests for various specialists over a long period of time. Then the only testing needed after is to determine effect of treatment.

 

note: IANAD

Edited by lanforod, 28 June 2022 - 09:43 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

A new two-year contract from the province offering a $25,000 bonus has yet to attract any new family medicine residents — 175 of whom graduated from the University of B.C. last week — to sign on as a family doctor in B.C.

 

Dr. Ana Boskovic, representing the UBC medical residents, and Dr. Romina Moradi, representing international residents, said in a phone interview that doctors don’t want to sign the contracts only to end up abandoning their patients two years from now if they find out the system in B.C. isn’t sustainable, or the clinic, location or type of contract wasn’t a good fit.

 

 

https://www.timescol...g-bonus-5547521

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 July 2022 - 05:34 AM.

[Barrrister]

I suspect that the government is more interested in saying they are taking steps than they are in actually fixing the problem.

[Mike K.]

Like some council housing initiatives of late. It’s the process, not the product.

[JohnN]

“ B.C. family doctors say time-based payment model one way to create less stress, better care

Current fee-for-service model pays doctors per patient regardless of how long they spend with them”
https://www.todayinb...ss-better-care/

[Mike K.]

Saunders Family Foundation Pitches Pilot Project to Address Growing Family Doctor Crisis in BC

(Colwood, BC) July 7, 2022 — The Saunders Family Foundation is hoping their pitch to the Province of British Columbia will result in a homerun for healthcare on the growing West Shore and Sooke, where the population has approximately doubled since 2006 along with the price of the average home, and about a third of the residents are unable to find a family doctor.

A Community Healthcare Support Network Pilot Project proposal was delivered to Premier John Horgan’s Office on June 30th by the Saunders Family Foundation, intent on shining a light on the area’s social planning gaps, and to offer some practical help for one of the fastest growing regions in BC, and one which is also facing a deeply concerning shortage of family doctors, nurses, and other healthcare and emergency response personnel.

“Whether it’s the family doctor shortage, non-existent drop-in centres for youth, or the lack of long-term care and local hospice facilities for our elders, the social planning needs of the West Shore and Sooke are not being adequately met,” said Foundation President, Dave Saunders, “and it’s our collective responsibility as a community to find ways to change that.”

To help West Shore and Sooke community members strategize on some solutions, the Saunders Family Foundation brought in planning consultant Mark Holland (who previously led the work on Colwood and Langford’s award-winning joint Official Community Plan back in 2008) to engage in some frank talk with people from across healthcare, social development, and local leadership.

“Our CHS Network concept speaks to the need for a network of local community organizations to work together to address key healthcare worker and facility needs that the regular healthcare system does not address – such as housing, transportation costs, clinic facility approvals, and many others,” said Mark Holland, President of Holland Planning Innovations Inc.

“All too often, the issues related to healthcare are seen as solely the responsibility of the provincial and federal government and their agencies. However, many aspects of the healthcare system fall largely or entirely within the jurisdiction of local government and can be addressed by local organizations in a way that senior governments have little to no way of directly influencing,” explained Holland.

“Unfortunately, few local governments have a strategy to address the elements of the healthcare system that are within their jurisdiction and within the influence of community organizations,” added Holland “and for the aspects of the system that can be helped by non-governmental organizations, there is no shared playbook, toolbox or coordinating capacity to help them all work together on these shared goals. This lack of planning and coordination is now leading to stress or the actual loss of doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, and health facilities in our communities. And it is unlikely they will return until these issues are addressed.”

The proposed Community Healthcare Support Network (CHS Network) offers an integrated approach that includes important planning and coordination support. The Saunders Family Foundation is now working with the City of Langford and the M’akola Group, the largest Aboriginal affordable housing provider and developer in BC, to select a pilot project site to test and further develop the CHS Network concept.

According to Langford Mayor Stew Young, “I’ve been trying for years to find ways to support family doctors but have been running into too many obstacles to find a workable solution. This new concept has the potential to be a game-changer for people seeking quality healthcare on the West Shore.”

Kevin Albers, CEO of the M’akola Group, also sees how creative collaborations like this one can offer innovative ways forward, stating that “As a non-profit mixed-use developer and operator with many years of experience headquartered in the City of Langford, we believe it is our responsibility to contribute to a community-based solution. We see the impact of these healthcare challenges and the effect on our tenants, our employees, their families, and this entire community. We all need to explore solutions which are bold and innovative and that is the space where we do our best work.”

The common-sense concept is quickly gaining an enthusiastic following on Dave Saunders’ quick outreach alone, whether it’s praise coming from healthcare professionals operating at ground zero, retired frontline folks, municipal leaders, social service providers, or a community-minded local business and development sector wanting to know where to sign-up, people can see the elegant simplicity of the CHS Network.

People can learn more about the project, how to get involved, or how they can contribute at HealthyWestShore.ca

“Our family foundation has always been about ‘Families Helping Families’. We are eager to discuss this proposal further with the Premier and look forward to working together as a community to drive the kind of system change we need to see if we want to achieve a healthier future for all our families,” said Saunders in closing.

Read the Community Healthcare Support Network Proposal submitted to the Province of BC by the Saunders Family Foundation at HealthyWestShore.ca

[spanky123]

^ Great idea but doesn't address the fundamental issue of pay.

[Barrrister]

After reading of it twice the article does not tell me what they are actually doing. A lot of vague word salad.

[Victoria Watcher]

Agree.

[Mike K.]

The ER at West Coast General in Port Alberni is facing eight hour daily closures August through September if a staffing shortage is not rectified immediately.

But sure, build a museum.

[Nparker]

...But sure, build a museum.

And fire unvaccinated health care workers.

[Mike K.]

BC Healthcare: please don’t get sick 9PM-5AM.

[spanky123]

After reading of it twice the article does not tell me what they are actually doing. A lot of vague word salad.

 

Let me guess. We have some land to sell and are happy to do some development work if we are paid for it.

[JimV]

There will be a protest organized by BChealthcarematters.com this Tuesday, July 12, 10-12 at the Premiers Conference being held at the Empress Hotel.

[Victoria Watcher]

Late-term pregnant women advised to move off Salt Spring

 

Women who are 37 to 42 weeks into their pregnancies being advised to temporarily relocate to be closer to a labour and delivery health-care provider from mid-July to mid-August.

 

 

https://www.timescol...-spring-5572574

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 July 2022 - 05:52 AM.