Can things really be much different here in Kamloops with the Interior Health Authority? I would think not

Today we have a feature commentary from, Kamloops South Thompson BC Conservative candidate, Peter Sharp:

I came across a story today that should give at least a few British Columbian's, many of whom are desperately looking to find a family Doctor, a bit of hope. 

The news story indicated that BC has recruited a record number of doctors in 2012.  I am pleased to see this, but also find it a shame however; that we can't work harder to find ways to train more of our own BC young people. 

Just the other day, in a government release, the BC Liberals also informed us that:
The government of British Columbia and the BC Medical Association are partnering to improve primary care services and ensure all B.C. citizens who want a family doctor are able to access one by 2015.  

Here are the first two features they called attention to:
1) Funding to enable family physicians to consult with patients by telephone
2) Incentives for physicians to take more patients with complex conditions, such as cancer, onto their caseloads.  

Now I don't know about you, but I'm not so sure that we want to have doctors diagnosing patient medical concerns by telephone -- something tells me we could be opening ourselves up for some kind of multi-million dollar lawsuit if a serious misdiagnosis were to occur. 

Doctors to diagnose over the telephone, while patients
self-diagnose over the internet for lack of family doctors

And ... if doctors are already carrying more patients than they wish to have, which is greatly increasing their stress and burn-out level, what kind of 'incentives' can we possibly provide that would have them take on more patients? 

I have to say that everything I see, read, and hear, tells me the whole system appears to be getting worse, and not better.  And it's not just doctors (and others in the healthcare system) saying the problem is patient loads that are too high, and not enough family doctors.  Spending is being badly misdirected as well.  

Some Doctors involved in direct medical care in BC are saying; "Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are being wasted every year oninefficiencies and mismanagement".   

In this same story we read:
Mike McLoughlin, a Kelowna businessman whose wife is a family doctor at a walk-in clinic, said patients often needlessly repeat medical tests when they're referred to a local hospital.

"The information sharing is so poor that patients undergo the same tests twice," said McLoughlin, who's running in the May election for the B.C. Conservatives after getting fed up watching waste in the system.  

 

The story "Wasted Tax Dollars: B.C. health spending under fire", by Michael Smyth, informs us that:  

... in the Fraser Health Authority alone, the number of non-union staff making over $150,000 a year has increased 22 per cent since the 2009 election. 

... and those making between $125,000 and $150,000 is up 35 per cent, and those making between $100,000 and $125,000 is up 39 per cent. 

 

Can things really be much different here in Kamloops with the Interior Health Authority?  I would think not -- and it IS NOT. 

For patients to expect the best care possible, is now considered ‘combative’?

Today in the Kamloops Daily News (03/30/12), I was deeply disturbed to read a letter from a husband whose wife has been a patient at Royal Inland Hospital.  He stated:

Instead of being able to recoup and recover she was kept awake all night by patient buzzers in the hall, for three days made to use a public unisex washroom that had a sign put on it that the public was not to use it as it was for the patients in the hallway...of which there were three at that time.

I ask, and have asked before, what kind of care and recovery will a patient have when they are put in hallways to recover?  But that is not the only issue or problem people are experiencing with stays in the hospital.  With limited space available, we now have medical staff who are discussing patient care, and needs, amongst other people who should have NO part in these discussions – they however have no choice.

The letter writer went on to say:

Only one political party has recognized the insanity of a carbon tax that takes from health and education -- and gives it to big business

The Carbon Tax, initiated by the BC Liberal government, robs much needed money from the education needs of BC children ... and from medical care.

In 2010 (2011 not available) the BC Liberal government required School District 73, Kamloops/Thompson to pay the Pacific Carbon Trust a total of $106,496 in carbon taxes.

That same year, the BC Liberal government also required the Interior Health Authority to pay the Pacific Carbon Trust nearly $1 million dollars ($965,891) in Carbon Taxes.

And Thompson Rivers University?  Well they ended up shelling out $103,310 as well.

Good grief, even the Pacific Carbon Trust itself got hit for a carbon tax of $170

(Find the cost your School District and Health Authority paid by CLICKING HERE)

And what do these carbon taxes do?  They allow the provincial government to, only on paper, claim that British Columbia is carbon neutral.

Princeton ER --- Sorry We're Closed"

Tonight on BC's CTV News they had a story that the Emergency Room in Princeton was closed.  Nearest hospital?? … one hour away in Princeton --- this is unacceptable.

Having the Interior Health Authority (IHA) hang a "Sorry Were Closed" sign on the Princeton ER is a totally unacceptable contingency plan. 

In MY opinion, the BC governments grand scheme to centralize hospital administration, often times hours from a community, has proven to been a disastrous plan.

Environment Minister Terry Lake provides us with “political baffle- gab” at its finest

Did any of you have the unfortunate luck to hear Terry Lake, our Minister of Environment, this morning on the news with CHNL?  He was on the news defending the Carbon Tax and the Pacific Carbon Trust --- incredible.

He blasted John Cummins and the BC Conservative Party for saying this regrettable and regressive tax grab should be eliminated, and will be under a BC Conservative government.  We are the only political jurisdiction in North America with a tax like this.  Has Terry, my own MLA Kevin Krueger, or Christy  Clark and the rest of caucus ever stopped to wonder why no one else has a tax like this?

Our government has each of us paying a carbon tax to offset our use of carbon based fuels.  When we drive our cars it costs us more --- when we heat our homes it costs us more --- when we buy our groceries it costs us more. 

Everything we buy, and do, costs us more!

What have we been offered by those who want to be the leader of the BC Liberal party

On November 9^th, 2010, just days after the announced resignation of Premier Gordon Campbell, Jeff Jedras of the National Post wrote an article entitled, “BC Liberal Leadership still a prize worth winning” (http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/11/09/jeff-jedras-b-c-liberal-leadership-still-a-prize-worth-winning/#ixzz1A5LdypS0).  His article began with the following:

It’s hard to know where to start in appreciating the wacky state of B.C. politics. It has arguably the most electorally successful premier in B.C. history in Gordon Campbell, who survived a drunk-driving charge while in office, only to be felled by a caucus and taxpayer revolt. A taxpayer rebellion led by Bill Vander Zalm, a former premier who presided over the destruction of the once-mighty Social Credit brand and left office in disgrace and mockery. And an opposition party in the BC NDP that, with the government at historic lows in the polls, seemed more interested in knifing its own leader, Carole James.

The latest development, Campbell’s resignation as Premier, was both inevitable and surprising. He tried to save himself with a televised infomercial a few weeks ago, offering large personal tax cuts, but the damage was done. With a caucus revolt brewing, Campbell recognized the writing was on the wall and decided to go as gracefully as possible …

That was nearly two months ago, and since then what have we been offered by those who want to be the leader of the BC Liberal party -- and premier of the province? … here’s a quick reminder: