March Letter to Health Minister

March 6, 2012

The Honourable Michael de Jong               

Minister of Health

PO Box 9050, Stn Prov Govt,

Victoria BC

V8W 9E2

Dear Minister de Jong:

Re: Declining Medical Services in BC Small Communities

At the 2011 UBCM Convention, attendees at the Small Talk Forum discussed declining medical services in small communities across BC. Delegates at this Forum were concerned about the quality and quantity of services (ie. hospitals and health care centres) in communities of populations less than 5,000.

The need for better health care in small communities has been a long-standing issue for our membership. Several resolutions have been endorsed on this topic, including requests for the provincial government to:

·        Ensure that doctors and other medical services are adequately provided to all residents in every community in BC

·        Encourage graduate of medical programs to practice and stay in rural areas of BC

·        Provide resources and permission for local physicians to perform minor operating procedures in remote rural hospitals

·        Increase funding for universities and other medical training facilities to train a greater number of graduates, in order to address of medical personnel available

·        Require that general practitioners can meet the needs of rural Canadians, such as proficiency in surgery, obstetrics and anesthesia

·        Restore funding to the BC Ambulance Service so that citizens could expect a timely response from qualified personnel throughout the province

These resolutions and others are provided in the attached document.

As adequate health care is a priority for our members, we would like to know what your Ministry is doing to address health care services the small, rural and remote communities in BC. 

Also, the next meeting of the Healthy Communities Committee will take place in Victoria on Thursday, May 17. If you are available on that day, we would like to invite you to attend the meeting to discuss this issue further.  Our staff can assist in coordinating a time that works for you and for the Committee. Please contact Marylyn Chiang at mchiang@ubcm.ca or at 604 270 8226 x110.

Thank you for the consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Al Richmond,

Chair, Healthy Communities Committee

Enclosure:       UBCM Resolutions on Health Care in Small Communities

CC:                  Cathy Ulrich, CEO, Northern Health Authority
Dr. Nigel Murray, CEO, Fraser Health Authority
Dr. David Ostrow, CEO, Vancouver Coastal Health 
Howard Waldner, CEO, Vancouver Island Health Authority
Dr. Robert Halpenny, CEO, Interior Health Authority