File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)
HEALTHCARE CRISIS

B.C. Liberal leader Kevin Falcon outlines plan to bring new doctors to B.C.

Aug 11, 2022 | 4:37 PM

KAMLOOPS — “Lives are being lost in British Columbia because of the poor quality of health care being delivered right now,” said B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon.

The Liberals are calling for action to solve the healthcare crisis in British Columbia. The seven-point plan was released on Day 30 of their initial 30-day plan, which Falcon says was ignored by the NDP government.

“Since we announced it, there has been nothing but the sound of crickets. So, today we are coming forward with yet more steps that the government could take to try and, quite frankly, put pressure on them to deal with this with some sense of urgency because this is a major problem,” Falcon told CFJC Today.

While the 30-day plan focused on retention of staff, the new plan hopes to increase the number of doctors in British Columbia through expanding training seats and making it easier for foreign doctors to practice in B.C.

“We want the government to immediately expand the residency seats for international medical graduates from 56 to 150 and bring in a lot of those doctors who wish to practice here. Most of whom are Canadians so they can immediately help deal with the shortage of primary care physicians,” added Falcon.

Falcon also pressed on a promise from the NDP to open a new medical school at Simon Fraser University.

“The NDP is in their second term; they haven’t added one new medical training space in British Columbia. They did promise to open up a medical program at SFU. They still have not done that, nor have they moved forward in any appreciable way on that promise,” said Falcon.

Kamloops North-Thompson MLA Peter Milobar strongly believes that if the Liberal strategies are adopted, the issues in the Interior at places like Clearwater or Royal Inland Hospital could improve.

“That’s what we feel, and that’s why our leader Kevin Falcon brought forward these as ideas that should be actioned. Unfortunately our 30-day plan, with ten items in it, has not seen any action out of this government. This is just a further step of us saying this is what needs to be done in the healthcare system,” said Milobar.

While the NDP has yet to utilize the ideas from the opposition, Health Minister Adrian Dix did attempt to incentivize doctors to stay in B.C.

“They threw out this idea of $25,000 as an incentive to bring in doctors. Not a single physician has taken them up on it. It has been a total policy failure. It’s important to understand that what we are putting forward are ideas and initiatives that are informed by the discussions we are having with doctors,” said Falcon.

On top of the seven priorities, the Liberals are looking for any immediate action.

“When you have a crisis like this you need action, and we are not seeing any from this government and I’m calling for action now.”

CFJC News did reach out to the NDP government and the Ministry of Health for comment on our story today; nobody could be made available ahead of our deadline. The ministry is making an effort to have somebody available on Friday.

View Comments