“Physicians want to be supported. They don’t want to work in a system that is failing. And under the present government, it is failing" ~~ Dr. Anna Kindy, BC Conservative Health Critic

“If patients cannot get the diagnostics or procedures they need by the established benchmark time, then the BC government must pay for them to seek testing and treatment in the U.S. or another country,” said Dr. Anna Kindy, Conservative MLA for North Island and official opposition health critic. “This is about guarantee of care.”

“One year for a Parkinson’s patient to see a neurologist in Vancouver. One and a half years for an individual to get a pacemaker in Campbell River. Three months for a PET scan, in which time treatable cancer can become palliative. And now, nine months for women across the province to obtain follow-up cervical cancer testing. These are the wait times I’m hearing about, and they are unacceptable,” said Kindy.

Patients who have tested positive for high-risk strains of HPV (a precursor to cervical cancer) must see a specialist within eight weeks, according to the BC Cancer Agency benchmark. But a CTV News report revealed these women are waiting six to nine months to learn if they do in fact have cancer.

Understandably, some of these women are too distressed to sit and wait around, so they are paying upwards of $1,000 to receive near-immediate diagnostic testing in the U.S. They will not be reimbursed by the province.

According to a recent SecondStreet.org report, between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024 there were 988 British Columbians who died while waiting for surgery and 3,528 who died while waiting for diagnostic tests.

In total, 4,516 British Columbians died while on wait-lists for treatment.

“The NDP has proven they are incapable of planning health care services in this province, which is why wait times are out of control. To reduce wait times, we need data about how many BC physicians are retiring and how many are graduating. We need to look at population growth trends and plan hospitals and staff recruitment accordingly,” Kindy said.

“And it’s not only about how many doctors and specialists are retiring versus graduating – it’s about how many are leaving BC.”

“New doctors have a large amount of medical school debt, and if they stay in BC they face a high cost of living. Perhaps even more importantly, physicians want to be supported. They don’t want to work in a system that is failing. And under the present government, it is failing,” Kindy said.