B.C. doctor shortage rally in Victoria to press province to address issue

Angry at the lack of family doctors in B.C., a rally is set to take place outside the Health Ministry’s office in Victoria Wednesday afternoon.

The citizen-led group BC Health Care Matters says it’s advocating on behalf of the roughly one million people in this province who don’t have a family physician.

The group feels this is a critical issue and is planning to press MLAs until everyone in B.C. has access to primary care.

“Timely access to a family doctor is a cornerstone of our healthcare system, and a failing part of the Canadian promise,” group organizers say, adding a lack of access to primary health care means British Columbians can’t access “the most basic healthcare services, any continuity of care, and have limited access to specialized care.”

“We will work to elect a government that solves this problem and un-elect governments that do not,” the group adds.

Talks between the province and doctors continue to drag on. Earlier this month, neither side was willing to say if they were any closer to resolving the situation.

“We realize there is much work to do, and the system will not change overnight as many of the challenges we face have been around for several decades,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement to CityNews in early August.

Meanwhile, Doctors of BC says the system is at a crisis point, with calls for an urgent overhaul before the situation worsens.

Earlier this summer, the provincial government announced just under 200 family practice resident graduates were being offered attractive contracts, loan forgiveness, and $25,000 signing bonuses if they signed by next month to work as family doctors in B.C.

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Anyone who took the province’s offer would get a “new-to-practice” contract valued at just over $295,000 for the first year, which is usually a second-year rate.

Amid the doctor shortage, ER wait times have also spiked in various locations across B.C.

Wednesday’s rally is set to begin at 1 p.m.