B.C.’s health system in crisis since 2020, says minister

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province has been in a health-care crisis since at least the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made that suggestion Tuesday in Whistler at the annual conference of the Union of B.C. Municipalities on the subject of “re-envisioning health care.”

In his speech, Dix acknowledged the urgent challenges facing B.C. and spoke of the “need to transform the health-care system.” He also emphasized successes and struck a more positive tone than the municipal officials who spoke.

However, he made no new promises nor did he provide any new plans for how the province is going to tackle this crisis.

Communities across B.C. are experiencing emergency staff shortages, emergency room closures, and ambulance service issues. Meanwhile, close to one million British Columbians don’t have a family doctor.

Dix says the number of people without a family doctor has grown from about 340,000 in 2003 to 908,000 in 2017. He adds that figure is expected to be higher this year.

The province is also battling a toxic drug crisis, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the summer, two people died in Ashcroft while waiting for an ambulance. An infant also died in Barriere, pushing that community’s mayor to call for change within the system.

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At Tuesday’s session, delegates also heard how municipalities big and small are having trouble recruiting and retaining health-care staff because of shortages in housing and daycare.

The convention heard from mayors in Port McNeill and Clearwater who described staffing challenges that have closed emergency departments, as well as concerns about burnout among health workers.

Dix notes 38,000 new staff have been added to the health system in B.C. since he became health minister in 2017, and he knows more are needed.

“You know what everyone in this room is saying to themselves right now? Not enough,” Dix said.

He says the B.C. government is working to improve the compensation model for doctors, transition to team-based models of care, and increase recruitment and retention practices.

With files from the Canadian Press