A physician at Lions Gate Hospital says he is seriously considering resigning from the hospital as he has hit a breaking point with the health-care system.
Dr. Kevin McLeod posted on social media on Thursday, raising concerns about the current system and calling on the next government to make people in highly paid positions accountable.
“It really hit a breaking point for me last night because Sechelt is phoning saying we need to send patients over to Lions Gate,” the internal specialist said.
“Well… honestly it’s ridiculous.”
McLeod said this week has been especially difficult and it’s taking a toll on him and his family.
“For me, on a typical call day, I might have 20, 22 new complex patients,” he said.
“I might have an additional 35, 40, 50 people in an office. It’s not safe.”
Meanwhile, patients needing neurological care at Penticton Regional Hospital could face reduced access to specialist services after three neurologists resigned their hospital privileges.
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The resignations come after Interior Health introduced a change last month requiring neurologists to provide on-call services across the entire health region, a move physicians say would significantly increase their workload without additional support in their communities.
“There’s always concerns whenever you lose doctors from any medical facility,” said Dr. Adam Thompson, president of Doctors of BC.
Thompson said the new on-call requirements could place additional pressure on neurologists who are already in short supply.
“It was to substantially increase their workload without additional support in their communities to do so,” he said. “There comes a tipping point where you cannot juggle all the balls of neurological cases at the same time.”
With the B.C. provincial election just days away, health-care experts are hoping that the political parties are listening to their concerns.
“We’re going to ensure that we’re putting the minimum nurse-to-patient ratios into legislation, into the law, to make sure that the health authorities know, that the hospital managers know, that everybody knows, that this is where the government is going,” BC NDP leader David Eby said.
In a release, B.C. Nurses’ Union president Adriane Gear said ratio legislation represents an opportunity to build on the progress that’s already been made, provide greater certainty for patients and nurses, and support the planned expansion of ratios in emergency departments, operating rooms, long-term care and assisted living facilities, as well as community and non-hospital care settings.
But she added that safe staffing is a health-care priority that must transcend party politics and remain a commitment regardless of which party forms government.
BC Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson said that they will “build a brand new state-of-the-art children’s and women’s hospital right here in Surrey that we’re very excited to announce.”
McLeod said the issue remains that the people in high-ranking admin positions need to run the system better.
“We’ve dramatically increased the number of people who are in these admin roles, but I wouldn’t argue we’re running things more efficiently,” he said.
“A lot of savings could be had there.”
What I would like to know is where are all these “sick” people coming from, are they immigrating here because of our FREE medical. If so stay home we don’t want your sickness in our country
Keep voting for incompetent leftists and this is what you get.
The left are the dumbest clowns on the planet. They should be returned to the asylums.
Thumbs down to St Paul’s hospital. So much for being a world class hospital. Back in August of this year, the St Paul’s ER sent me home with a fracture without any medical personnel looking at me
Common sense would say, wasting billions on sky train to Langley and UBC, along with cost over-rides and not building ferries here, using that money for health care and seniors is a far better choice.
Comparing hospitals does not answer the problems. It’s top heavy with managers… get the front line workers out there for the patients. Fire the left and try again with the Cons. If people can’t afford to eat… they are going to be sick. Get ready for more of the same.. chaos in the system.
10 years of NDP and our hospitals are at breaking point. They clearly can’t fix it as they would have by now. I think any way you slice it, a new government needs to look at all options on the table including some bold options from countries that have top healthcare like Taiwan, South Korea, The Netherlands, Australia, and/or Japan some of which are fully single payer government or a mix of public-private not like the US for-profit system which we should avoid.
One common denominator as the last writer stated though is all the above countries focus on facilitating economic growth.
So let’s vote for a party that with facilitate economic growth so that we can afford new hospitals. socialism will only make things work.
You get what you deserve
you can throw all the money you want at this issue, there still will not be enough doctors to meet the needs of our population, the doctors are just over worked, building 50 new operating rooms with no one to work in them does not make sense
Why is there no comment on the MSP GMVs cuts quietly made by the NDP during this election? Cap reduction to 30 for Tele health, 40% reduction in fees, and restrictions will force closures of clinics like the B.C.-CLMF.
338 looking better and better!
Many doctors and nurses have hit the breaking point. BC needs a change badly. It’s starting on Saturday.
It’s space! I Can’t understand why surgery waits are an issue. I know a few surgeons and doctors.
Fact- It’s not lack of surgeons it’s a lack of operating rooms. That is strictly an investment issue.
Solution? Find an empty plot of land ( old race for example) and build a three story 45 operating room facility.
One floor shoulders, elbows, ankles hips and knees. One mild internal surgery, one more elective but needed stuff. Stuff that does not really need post operative care anymore.
These types of facilities are all over the US.
Funding allow private paid operations if space time available.
Right now surgeons with long wait times do paid private surgery in Mexico.
Leave the post operative care and beds to the real hospitals.
The whole Healthcare system in BC if not Canada needs to go back to basics. Pay health care professionals what they deserve and by that I mean doctors & nurses. Slash administrators by 25% and end all long term sick pay for health care employees it’s being abused . Time to roll back the clock and reward those Healthcare professionals and employ more professionals and less administrators
The NDP are so finished on Saturday! Somebody put Eby on suicide watch. Lolololololol
Adrian Dix was health minister for awhile.
NDP fully responsible for this mess!
Ten years later and still a mess. Crusty did better than that eh? Vote Conservative!
We needed a private option* – and the tens of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure and education/training that would have come with it – 40 years ago.
*with the public system maintained