A recent government decision that changes the way that relief for rural doctors and nurses is allocated is a small victory for advocates of better rural healthcare says North Coast MLA Gary Coons. Prince Rupert is one of the communities that will be served under the terms of the new locum incentive program.
“I’ve been advocating for solutions to the shortage of medical professionals in small and remote communities since taking office,” said Coons. “The expansion of communities eligible for incentives for temporary and relief doctors is welcome, but more needs to be done.”
Under changes to the rules, more communities are eligible for incentives to attract temporary medical personnel. The placements are primarily used to give rural doctors a chance to go on vacation.
“Rural doctors are often overworked to the point of exhaustion,” said Coons. “What these incentives do is attract temporary doctors to our communities so that our local physicians get a break. The expansion of the locum incentive program is important, but it is not a long term solution to the shortage of doctors in rural British Columbia.
Coons says that despite these changes the B.C. Liberal government has largely ignored rural access to healthcare issues.
“When the government did a conversation on health they completely neglected to include people from the north and central coast,” said Coons, noting that the nearest conversation on health meeting occurred in Smithers. “I did my own series of consultations with communities, and I found that there are substantial problems with the delivery of health services in rural areas.”
“I am going to keep fighting for the government to ensure equal access to medical services to people in rural remote communities,” said Coons. “Our communities can’t thrive without access to quality healthcare.”