Nanaimo woman’s death sparks clash over primary care in Legislature

The family of a young woman from Nanaimo has gone public about her death, with her mother insisting it was “entirely preventable.”

Identifying her only as “Sophia,” the woman’s mother is blaming a lack of access to primary care in the community. That sentiment has caught the attention of BC Conservative MLA Bruce Banman.

“A 23-year-old, healthy woman who died after contracting an infection while working at a homeless shelter, Sophia — like close to a million other British Columbians — did not have access to a family doctor,” the Abbotsford MLA told Question Period at the B.C. Legislature on Monday.

“She struggled to get a diagnosis for her rapidly declining health. … Sophia was diagnosed incorrectly twice by this NDP’s failing health-care system.”

Sophia’s family has told the media she contracted sepsis after an infection went undiagnosed, until too late. She died in the hospital in Vancouver on Nov. 27, 2023.

“Will this premier admit the health-care system in B.C. is broken?” Banman asked.

Health Minister Adrian Dix indicated Sophia’s death is under independent review but avoided getting into details about the case because of privacy concerns.

“We feel the grief of the community and, of course, the grief of the family,” Dix said. “With respect to our public health-care system, since we’ve changed and transformed the primary care system, working with our doctors, we added over nine months more than 700 net new family doctors practicing longitudinal family practice, for example.”

Dix also pointed to 238 new physicians in B.C.’s new-to-practice contract program, along with 237 in the new-to-practice nurse practitioner program, who he says are taking care of more than 200,000 British Columbians.

“There are fewer people looking for a family doctor today than in 2017, in the context of a time when we have added, literally, 700,000 more people in the province,” Dix said.

“We have more work to do. We don’t see the significant achievements, together with doctors over the last few months, as the end of a process. It’s a beginning. We’ve got to continue to do work and we are going to do that work.”

Premier David Eby has called Sophia’s death “horrific” and says Island Health is looking into the family’s concerns.