B.C. family doctors urge new provincial health ministry to fulfill election promises

The BC College of Family Physicians (BCCFP) is urging the new BC NDP cabinet to make changes to address what it calls a ‘family care crisis’ in the province.

Ahead of the first official meeting Wednesday, the college issued an open letter to the cabinet, including Health Minister Josie Osborne, outlining steps the new ministry can take to ensure more British Columbians are connected to a family physician.

“If the newly elected government are to deliver on their promise of attaching all patients on the Health Connect Registry by the end of next year, we need to start taking immediate action ahead of the Legislature’s return in February of 2025.” says Dr. Jennifer Lush, a family physician and board member of the BCCFP.

Speaking in the Legislature building Wednesday, Premier David Eby confirmed that the next session would begin on Feb. 18.

Lush tells 1130 NewsRadio that access to family doctors has an impact on the whole health-care system.

“Having the care of a family physician reduces emergency room visits by 35 per cent; reduces hospital admissions by 30 per cent; and reduces specialist consults by 17 per cent. So if we don’t have adequate family physicians, we are going to see our overcrowded emergency rooms and hospitals,” said Lush.

Among its demands, the college is asking that Eby fulfill his promise to ban employers from mandating a sick note for short-duration illnesses. Lush says recent data shows that 30 per cent of a family physician’s time is spent on administrative tasks like filling out sick notes.

BCCFP also wants the province to offer family clinics support in running “what are effectively small businesses” in order to make the career more attractive to young doctors.

“Family physicians are running clinics in BC that lack the resources to hire adequate staffing, secure long-term affordable rents, and cover other requirements like insurance. Eighty-five per cent of BC family physicians lack health and dental benefits that would otherwise be afforded to other health care professionals,” the college said.

Lush explains that extended medical and dental benefits, a pension plan, paid sick time, and maternity leave would be considered attractive offers for new doctors to come to B.C. She says historically high dollar amounts associated with doctors’ pay are not all they appear to be.

“It’s important to realize that family physicians — what we make is not our income. So when we bill the government for services, we are then turning around and paying our staff out of that amount. We are paying our bills; we are paying our overhead; our electricity bills. All of that comes out with what we bill the government.”

Low staffing issues, the BCCFP says, could also be solved by Eby living up to his promise to ‘fast-track’ the licensing of both Canadian and internationally trained physicians to work in B.C. It says that would strengthen the health-care workforce, create more availability for patient visits, and prevent doctors’ burnout.