B.C. Green party leader says backbone of the healthcare system is nearing collapse

The backbone of the B.C. health system is failing and the government isn’t doing enough to address the problem, says B.C. Green party leader Sonia Furstenau.

Furstenau outlined in a press release both short and long-term solutions to what she sees as a system on the brink of collapse and said immediate solutions are necessary.

“Primary care … is the back bone of a functioning health system and that back bone isn’t really working in B.C.,” said Furstenau. “For nearly a million people … it really is the most critical issue they’re facing right now.”

Wait times for emergency hospitals in the province have begun to spiral out of control, with times at two Metro Vancouver hospitals exceeding seven hours last weekend.

Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, the Doctors of BC president, said the reason for the wait times are directly tied to the lack of patients with family doctors.

“I think much of the answer to this is the primary care crisis, where our patients in British Columbia, upwards of 900,000 of our patients don’t have access to a family doctor,” Dr. Dosanjh told City News.

“We know that patients with family doctors have better health-care outcomes, and they have earlier detection, prevention, diagnosis and we are seeing with some of our patients who are having misdiagnosis, inaccurate diagnosis or untimely diagnosis.”

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The B.C. Green party plan to alleviate the healthcare woes includes short-term solutions such as providing financial support to keep clinics open and long-term solutions as a shifting away from a “fee-for-service-model.”

Furstenau says the need to repair the healthcare system and to keep clinics open and available will help solve these issues.

Even though the Green Party did not attach a dollar figure to their proposed plan, Furstenau said the healthcare costs under the current system will rise as more people face time in the hospital.

“When patients and people aren’t able to seek care in a clinic, a lot of times are ending up in hospitals,” said Furstenau.

“We know the cost of the healthcare system when people show up in the hospital is significantly higher.”

With files from Michael Williams