Only seven per cent of specialists in B.C. feel there are enough specialists in this province to meet our population’s needs. A mere 11 per cent feel that B.C. patients have appropriate access to specialist care.
This is causing specialists moral distress, according to a new Doctors of BC survey of approximately 900 consultant specialists across the province.
“We need the government to provide a reliable and transparent living data-set on the waitlists and wait times to access specialist care,” said Dr. Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island and official opposition health critic in a Jan. 31 media release. “Without this data, health care access and physician recruitment planning will fail into perpetuity.”
“1.2 million British Columbians are waiting for specialist care, and we know that far too many individuals will worsen in condition or die on these waitlists. It is unconscionable.”
According to the Doctors of BC survey, average specialist wait times include four weeks for urgent cases, 10 weeks for semi-urgent cases, and 10 months for non-urgent cases. Seventy per cent of specialists reported an increase in waitlist size over the last two years.
“Consider this: there is only one gastroenterologist serving the Region of Nanaimo, population 170,000. An individual with Crohn’s Disease may have to wait four to six months to see the GI doc. In that time, they can go from a non-urgent to an urgent case, as they can become severely malnourished, or they can develop fistulas and require surgery,” said Kindy.
The Consultant Specialists of BC have repeatedly requested to meet with health minister Josie Osborne, but their letters and calls have gone unanswered, Kindy said.
“Minister Osborne has an obligation to meet with groups like the Consultant Specialists of BC – groups that are actually offering some solutions to alleviate these wait times. How can she move forward without hearing from the stakeholders?” she said.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to guarantee that patients can access health care within a reasonable time frame in B.C. But until then, the province must pay for patients on long waitlists to seek services outside of our borders.”
