“I think the doctors are right in that money isn’t necessarily the answer,” says Lake. “In eight years, the health ministry budget has doubled, so if throwing money at the problem was the solution, we’d have a much better healthcare system.”
Lake feels the ministry and Doctors of BC need to hash out a plan to resolve the working conditions doctors have flagged as unsafe and untenable — both to protect patients and keep physicians from leaving hospitals.
“Successive governments, including the one I was in, really haven’t dealt with the aging population, the growing population, and the change in the workforce, the profile of the medical profession and how physicians and other medical professionals work today versus how they were in the ’70s or ’80s,” said Lake. “I think rather than dealing with one problem at a time, we need to go back to the drawing board a little bit and try to figure out a plan.”
CFJC has requested interviews with Interior Health and BC’s health minister, and will have more on this developing story Wednesday (Oct. 22), including insight from a local physician.