On Tuesday September 20th, the CBC held a townhall to discuss the “healthcare crisis” in British Columbia. Many of the members and supporters of the BC Rural Health Network tuned in and attempted to add content and context to this discussion. Many of those who attempted to participate left without inclusion, and many have been expressing their frustration.
The BC Rural Health Network agrees with Minister Dix that BC has been in a healthcare crisis for two years due to the pandemic. Unfortunately, in rural areas of BC, this crisis has been ongoing for decades and the pandemic simply shone a light on the problems. This has been particularly true in rural jurisdictions where urban solutions have not met the needs of low volume, isolated sites.
The solution to the rural healthcare crisis in BC has much greater complexity than that of the high populated urban centres across BC. Issues such as access to care for the most vulnerable, aging in place, recruitment/retention, housing, out of pocket costs, transportation, maternity care, hospice support and including the resident’s voice in their healthcare, have far greater challenges for 1.5 million rural British Columbians than for their urban counterparts.
Many proposed solutions require new approaches. Rural residents want to be heard and not just listened to regarding their communities and their health. Peggy Skelton the President of the BC Rural Health Network stated “Our membership is growing to include the voices of the residents of many BC municipalities. Although every community is unique, we do see commonalities across the province. We are beginning to address the problems across rural BC in a united front. Many existing models (UPCC for example) do not work well in rural areas. Health authorities need to be held accountable to the communities they manage. In a crisis we need to come together across political stripes and act for the benefit of all the residents, no matter where they live. We need equity in health outcomes for rural residents.”
To address the many concerns of their membership and to start down the path of creating solutions and actions, the BC Rural Health Network has created the Implementation Committee. This committee will be chaired by a leading researcher on rural healthcare in BC, Dr. Jude Kornelsen of the Centre for Rural Research at UBC. “For decades we have been producing evidence on rural health service solutions but have not seen the translation of our work into policy and practice. Foundationally, we need to ensure inclusion of rural voices in health care planning, something that is intrenched in many other jurisdictions. The mandate of the Implementation Committee is to produce actionable recommendations for decision makers, localized to the British Columbia setting. We intend to bring solutions forward that are supported by evidence and then look for system accountability. I’m pleased to have the support of the BC Rural Health Network and look forward in working with communities to effect change.”
The BC Rural Health Network is the healthcare voice of the rural residents of British Columbia and seeks better health outcomes for all people, through solutions-based approaches with governments, and information provision to residents.
