Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Victor Kaisar

B.C. ER Closures

B.C. mayors to continue pressing new government amid ongoing ER shutdowns

Nov 9, 2024 | 3:47 PM

MERRITT — A group of B.C. mayors are joining forces to push for better healthcare coverage in rural communities across the Interior.

While the initiative is being spearheaded by Lillooet Mayor Laurie Hopfl, Merritt Mayor Michael Goetz told CFJC Today that they want the incoming B.C. Government to act quickly to try and end the perpetual cycle of emergency room shutdowns

“I think what we are trying to do here is kind of the same thing that they have down on the coast with the transit system where they have the mayors gather,” Goetz said. “I do believe Mayor Hopfl thought that maybe this is something we should be doing because Lillooet is closed a lot, Merritt is closed a lot, Oliver is closed a lot, New Denver, Keremeos… basically you through a dart at the board in IHA and figure out which hospital is going to be closed .”

As of publishing, there have been 16 ER closures in Merritt and 20 in Lillooet this year.

Goetz says the group expects to meet with Interior Health and the Ministry of Health in the near future, in the hopes of coming up with “reasonable and feasible solutions.”

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“This isn’t going to be fixed easy. It’s going to take some work and it’s going to take some head scratching and it’s going to take some really good insight and ideas,” he added. “That is why I think Mayor Hopfl has done a good job because there are some other mayors and councils that have some pretty good ideas, and I think if we can put all those into a pot and stir it around, i think we can come up with a fix to help the government out.”

For now, Goetz says the mayors are waiting to see whether Adrian Dix will carry on as Health Minister in David Eby’s new cabinet, which will be revealed on Nov. 18 after the NDP eked out a narrow majority in last month’s election.

“I’ve been quite critical of the Minister but I do give him the respect that he deserves being in government as long as he has been. It’s just the only problem that has been badgering me is the fact that there’s been no outright plan [to address the closures],” Goetz added. “For 18 months, we’ve been floundering, and maybe its time for time for somebody else with a different view and maybe a medical background to start running this, but if it comes back to Minster Dix, that is who we’ll work with.”

“There’s a lot of blame to go around but maybe the blame game needs to stop and we need to roll up our sleeves and start figuring out how to fix this.”