Tag Archives: Adrian Dix

Health

B.C. moves to bring more foreign-trained doctors

By Fabian Dawson, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Facing a critical shortage of doctors, British Columbia has announced a series of initiatives to get more internationally educated physicians to practise in the province.

Key among the plans include the creation of a new class of ‘associate physicians’ which will allow for international medical graduates (IMGs) to care for patients under the supervision of an attending physician within a health authority acute-care setting.

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Health

B.C. needs to invest in primary care to stem the bleeding of family doctors from rural areas

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Rural communities in B.C. will continue to suffer critical doctor shortages and the knock-on effect of repeated emergency room closures until B.C.’s primary care system is modernized, an expert says.

New physicians are shunning family practice, while established doctors are abandoning it because of the way primary health care is delivered, said Dr. Rita McCracken, a family physician and researcher with the University of British Columbia’s Department of Family Practice.

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Health

North Coast leaders met with the province to voice ambulance concerns

By Kaitlyn Bailey,  Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Spurred by growing concern about paramedic shortages and gaps in service, three leaders from Haida Gwaii and Nuxalk Nation lobbied for solutions during a meeting with Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Leanne Heppell, executive vice president and chief ambulance officer at BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), on Aug. 3.

The province introduced a new paramedic staffing model for rural and remote communities in the fall of 2021, which they refer to as Scheduled on Call (SOC).

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Health

Primary health care ‘collapsing’ in B.C. rural communities, critics say

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Back-to-back closures of small community emergency rooms on North Vancouver Island over the weekend is another example of the overall erosion of the primary care system in rural communities, the BC Green Party and the BC Nurses’ Union say. 

Due to ongoing staffing shortages, the emergency room at Port Hardy Hospital was temporarily closed from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. That closure took place hard on the heels of another temporary emergency department closure at the neighbouring Port McNeill Hospital from 3 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m Sunday. 

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Health

 The Dark Side Of VIHA (Vancouver Island Health Authority)

(Editor’s note: The following open letter mentions matters of concern to residents of the entire Greater Campbell River Health Area, which includes Cortes, Quadra and other Discovery Islands.)

An open letter to the Honourable Adrian Dix, Minister of Health for B.C. from Lois Jarvis, Richard Hagensen and Joanne Banks on Behalf of Citizens for Quality Health Care.

17 years ago, 6 people from the Comox Valley and 4 from Campbell River formed Citizens for Quality Health Care (CFQHC) to lobby for 2 acute care fully functional hospitals as all previous studies indicated were needed for the largest geographical area of Vancouver Island. VIHA had planned to downsize the Campbell River Hospital to a triage centre and replace both hospitals with one hospital located 40+ km south of Campbell River which would have been disastrous for all the people of the North Island and the Campbell River economy. 

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