Why ER Cuts Scare Me

I'm scared. I'm not afraid to admit it. I've been trying to keep some of my feelings separated from what is actually happening to our local hospital, but I can't. As you may have noticed by now (from previous posts here) I have a very strong hatred for IHA - Interior Health Authority. It is that negative emotion that I keep trying to cover so I can try to be objective about what IHA is doing to our hospital. It isn't easy.

I live in a small town with a surrounding population of about 5,000 in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. I own a small business and operate it with my wife. We are fairly typical in that the majority of the businesses in our community are owner operated. My business keeps me busy six days a week, sometimes seven. We are both in our 50s.

The reduced hours to our local ER were not what I would call shocking to me at first. I have to admit I was listening to and believing the reasoning used by IHA to justify the cutbacks. They had charts and data to back up their claims that mid-week the local ER may see a maximum of two people seeking medical attention between the hours of 12 Midnight and 8:00 AM. Being a small business owner I could understand the difficulty in justifying a service not being utilized.

But accidents don't happen at pre-determined times. My wife has said more than once that we should just pack up and leave town before things get worse. I don't want to do that, but I am getting worried about whether or not the ER will be available should I ever need it. I don't want to have to plan my visit to the ER around hours when it's fully operational because in my mind it should be fully operational all the time.

Our community is resource-based with a mine, mill and various other industrial ventures adding to the local economy. The potential of a serious disaster, as much as I'd like to think it couldn't happen here, could happen anywhere. But what if it happened here, after 12 Midnight on one of the nights the ER is closed? IHA has stated they have a plan, but with any disaster there has to be a plan. Quick, immediate response by medical staff would be a key factor to that disaster plan. I question how much extra time would have to be factored into any local disaster plan on a night the ER is closed. The next closest hospital is over an hour away.

I know the cut in hours to the local ER has already affected our community in ways not always obvious. It will affect how many new residents come to our community, especially those with special medical needs. It will have an affect on real estate. There could be a flood of residents leaving, as my wife wants us to do, which will hurt the real estate market. The ripple effect will also have an affect on things such as tourist travel (who wants to holiday somewhere where the ER may not be open 24-hours during their stay), to small business.

The Save Our Hospital Coalition is hosting an open Public Forum in Princeton's Riverside Centre on June 21st at 7:00 PM. If you are anywhere within reasonable driving distance of Princeton you should try to attend. We all need to stand together and fight cuts to rural health care in our province. If we stand by and accept this cut, what will be next?