
COLLINS: Finally, a breath of fresh air
I HAVE ADVOCATED for some time now that we need new directions in providing primary health care. And finally, some new possibilities are showing up.
Councillor Kelly Hall served a notice of motion Tuesday for council to discuss a plan that is operating well in Colwood. This plan, in rough terms, sees doctors become municipal employees, paid for by the City of Kamloops. It gives doctors more opportunity to work with patients than worry about paperwork. It could be part of an integrated system that could do some serious damage in reducing wait times and allowing more people access to primary care physicians.
I have advocated for a tiered system with a physician or nurse practitioner at the head, nurses to help triage and take care of less serious issues, and on down the line. There could be a lab or x-ray component.
I don’t know a lot about Councillor Hall’s proposal, but this is the kind of proposal that bears discussion. There are lots of questions, which is not surprising.