Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Lisa Pineault was in her 30s when she developed a medical condition that required regular doctor appointments in Vancouver over several months. For the average BC resident, visiting a specialist multiple times a week could be an inconvenience. But Pineault lives on Haida Gwaii, and a trip to the Lower Mainland requires either a two-hour flight or a multi-day road trip involving ferries and long drives. So it was sheer luck that Pineault’s medical needs coincided with a work secondment to Vancouver  ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Health officials in BC are facing growing pressure over a “crisis” in the province’s emergency rooms. Ongoing and sporadic ER closures have become all too common in rural and remote BC communities, and the problem has recently flared up in the Lower Mainland as well. In August alone, BC has witnessed nine ER closures across the province, the majority of them in the north ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Island Health has just launched a new online tool showing real-time emergency room wait times, a step MLAs Anna Kindy and Brennan Day say must be urgently replicated in every region of the province. “This is a good first step, but the rest of BC shouldn’t have to wait,” said Kindy, Opposition Health Critic.  “We are calling on Interior Health and Northern Health to roll out their own public ER wait time dashboards before the end of the summer.” The Conservative Opposition says the current gap in access to information is putting patients at risk, especially in rural and remote communities. “Families in the Interior and the North are already waiting too long for care — now they’re being left in the dark,” said Day, Opposition Critic for Rural and Seniors Health.  “If it can be done on the Island, there is absolutely no reason Interior and Northern Health can’t follow suit. Patients across BC deserve the same access to timely, transparent information.” The Conservative Caucus is ...

BC’s information and privacy commissioner is concerned about the number of freedom of information requests going unanswered in the province.  The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia recently took the “unprecedented step” of obtaining a court order to force a provincial health authority to respond to a freedom of information or FOI request, commissioner  Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner told The Tyee ... CLICK HERE for the full story

There are growing concerns over lives being put at risk over the lack of emergency health care in some BC communities, say local health authorities. Interior and Northern Health combined have seen close to 200 temporary emergency room closures just this year. On Tuesday evening, Interior Health issued a statement announcing the closure of the Lillooet Hospital and Health Centre from 7 p.m. Tuesday until 8 a.m. Wednesday ... ... marked the latest in a series of closures at the hospital, in addition those at the ER at Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre in Burns Lake, which has faced 30 closures since January ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The following is a transcript of a video Conservative Party of BC MLA Bruce Banman posted to “X” this afternoon (04/06)   This is a weapon … and guess where you’re allowed to take it now? According to a memo that was leaked out by Northern Health, you’re more than welcome to bring this into a hospital. Ahhh … what? You’re also allowed to do drugs. You can smoke meth, blow the smoke all around, and do crack; you can do whatever you want. You can run around with one of these (knife / weapon) … and that’s okay. But don’t you dare light up a cigarette – which you shouldn’t. And by the way if you’re a nurse or a doctor and you didn’t take the jab we’re going to fire you. Now you run the risk of getting jabbed by this. You know what? Dix and Eby would not allow a weapon like this to come into the legislature. They would not allow meth to be smoke in the legislature, or crack to be done, or drugs to be done in the legislature. So why the heck do they think it’s okay to do it in ...

There was more frustration for Prince Rupert residents as the city’s hospital had to once again close the doors of its emergency department overnight. The latest closure followed a 17-hour closure the previous day, from late Sunday night to Monday afternoon. The closure is due to staffing challenges. In total, it is the eighth overnight closure so far this month. The next nearest hospital is in Terrace, which is about an hour-and-a-half drive away . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

This week, (Adrian Dix) office shared statistics on where those net new family doctors are plying their trade. Of the 708, the largest portion – 211 – are practising in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. Island Health saw the next-largest net gain, with 179 more family doctors this year than last. Totals grew by 138 in Interior Health and 132 in Fraser Health, while Northern Health saw a net increase of 35 family doctors . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

  Some patients admitted to a Vancouver Island hospital over the long weekend were stunned to receive a notice telling them that even though they’d been admitted, there wasn’t a doctor available to care for them.   CTV News has obtained a copy of the document, which tells patients at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital that while an emergency room physician determined they needed to be there, “you are admitted to hospital but without a physician overseeing your ongoing care.”    The letter, which is not on letterhead and written by staff, provides contact information for senior leaders at the Island Health Authority and the leaders, explaining that hospitalists on shift were overwhelmed.   "You will not have a most responsible physician assigned to you until their capacity as a service permits this,” it says ... CLICK HERE to read the full story

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia: “We are announcing 40 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 271 cases in British Columbia. “It is with sadness that we announce that another patient who tested positive for COVID-19, a resident from the Lynn Valley Care Centre, has passed away. We offer our heartfelt condolences to their loved ones and the staff who cared for them. “Of the total cases, 152 are in Vancouver Coastal Health, 81 are in Fraser Health, 22 are in Island Health, 12 are in Interior Health and four are in Northern Heath. “Additionally, of the total COVID-19 cases, 17 individuals are currently hospitalized, nine are in intensive care and the remaining patients are at home in isolation. “We know that social distancing is an important line of defense for a...

For many years now there has been much ' talk ' about the so-called "Highway of Tears", which runs along the highway corridor between Prince George and Prince Rupert (Yellowhead Highway #16).   This is due of course to the large number of women who have gone missing along its route (although numbers have been enlarged by some to also include missing and murdered woman from along Highway 97 through the Cariboo, and if memory serves me correct, as far South West as Merritt, BC as well.   They are part of a larger group of Missing and Murdered First Nations women, although not all missing and murdered women from the corridor are First Nations. You will have noted that I italicized the word " Talk " because that is all that seems to happen -- talk.   "Something must be done" many cry, and yet NO action takes place. Why is that seems to be the question that goes unanswered.   First Nations groups blame federal and provincial governments al...