For the last several years, BC’s health care system has been suffering under the weight of the pandemic and the opioid crisis. We knew the situation would become even more difficult because of physician burnout. But none of us could have known that the system would struggle this much.
Family doctors and patient advocates have not stopped speaking up about the crisis in family medicine.
Close to a million British Columbians, or one in five people, do not have a family doctor and cannot get one. Patients are frustrated.
Family doctors are exhausted. Practicing family doctors cannot provide the care that British Columbians need and deserve. It’s time to invest in family doctors.
- CBC (Sept 20): Situation Critical: B.C.’s health-care crisis is unrelenting. What can be done to fix it?
- Healthy Debate (Sept 20): Cross-country project gives patients a say in solving primary-care crisis
- CTV News (Sept 15): ‘Extremely frustrating’: Nanaimo residents discuss grappling with family doctor shortage
- Terrace Standard: (Sept 8): More than 60% of B.C. adults have no family doctor or poor access to one: poll
- Vancouver Island Free Daily (Sept 3): B.C. needs to invest in primary care to stem the bleeding of family doctors from rural areas