We are losing more and more family doctors by the month. Our province is at 900,000 citizens without a family doctor – 1 out of 5 people. Even walk-in clinics are disappearing. The citizens are being abandoned.
I am a family doctor, and unless there is major primary care reform in this province, I may be one of a dying breed. Never, in my 20 years of practice in BC, have I seen family medicine in crisis as it is now.
We cannot allow further erosion of primary care. We need meaningful change.
I encourage all family physicians to join the rally being organized by BC Health Care Matters, a patient-led advocacy group. They are holding a rally on the BC Legislature grounds and virtually on BC Family Doctor Day: Thursday, May 19 from 11 am to 1 pm.
Physicians are invited to stand shoulder to shoulder with other citizens of BC to advocate for improved supports for family doctors, family medicine clinics and healthcare for every resident of British Columbia.
For the first time in memory, we find ourselves with an unprecedented groundswell of public support, spearheaded by BC Health Care Matters. This group has been an effective and outspoken advocate for the right of British Columbians to the longitudinal care of a family doctor.
Together, physicians and patients can send our message to government that urgent action and investment in family doctors is required, because Everyone Deserves a Family Doctor.
You can learn more about the May 19 in-person and virtual rally on the BC Health Care Matters website.
Dr Jennifer Lush
Family Physician, Victoria