The frontrunner to replace John Horgan as B.C.’s next premier is suggesting that while the government’s new urgent and primary care centres (UPCCs) are important, they alone cannot fix the province’s doctor shortage crisis.
Calling the doctor shortage his “number one priority,” David Eby told CHEK News political correspondent Rob Shaw that if he becomes premier he would dramatically boost financial incentives so that new family doctors choose to work in the community instead of a hospital or walk-in clinic.
That could include provincial nursing help to take on tasks like routine vaccinations, as well as having health authorities handle the business side of family practices like leasing space, hiring staff and maintaining electronic records systems — tasks that are currently left to doctors alone.
“I think the solution for family doctors is really going to come from the doctors. They’re going to tell us what they need to do this practice best,” said Eby. “If we can support them, that gives them more time to spend with patients.”
Eby said he wouldn’t scale back on the number of UPCCs recently opened by the NDP government, but emphasized the importance of family doctors to the province’s struggling health-care system.
