Health Minister Adrian Dix acknowledged to hundreds of local politicians across B.C. that “there is a challenge in health care” but stopped short of making specific promises or offering new dollars to address the growing number of hospital closures and doctor and paramedic shortages.
“We are capable of responding,” said Dix at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Whistler, after spending much of the time speaking about the province’s response to the pandemic.
“I have heard the term health crisis. Just so we understand: we’ve been in a health care crisis since at least March of 2020.”
While Dix argued that B.C.’s response was “the best in the world,” he admitted the province faced a number of challenges with current shortages stemming from an aging and growing population.
To that end, he said, the province needed to train more people, reduce barriers to care, make it easier for pharmacists and internationally-trained doctors to contribute to the system and make changes to the pay system.
“These are things we can do together,” said Dix.
“We need to be able to say that we are committed to our public health-care system.”
Dix says the number of people without a family doctor has grown from about 340,000 in 2003 to 908,000 in 2017 and is expected to be higher this year.
As a “first step,” the government announced last month $118 million in interim funding to support family doctors.
‘The eye-roll emoji”
Dix’s speech received some applause from the mayors and councillors in attendance.
But a number of leaders in smaller communities have said more action is urgently needed.
“The time for planning and consultation and reports and meetings is over,” said Ashcroft Mayor Barbara Roden.
