Doctors of BC statement: Supporting our doctors provide patient care in hospitals

The following is a statement from Dr Joshua Greggain, president of Doctors of BC:

Over the last month, doctors in hospitals across the province have spoken out about the serious challenges preventing them from providing safe patient care. I want to sincerely recognize and thank each and every one of those doctors for their courage. We aspire to a system when we, as physicians, can speak up, speak truth, and invite leaders in for conversation, which leads to collective action. I also want to pause and thank every doctor working in their communities and behind-the-scenes, for their courage and fortitude. It takes all of us to support each of us, to move forward and create a better future for one another. 

Health Minister Adrian Dix this week committed to implementing a short-, medium- and long-term plan to address the significant challenges at Surrey Memorial Hospital. Government and Fraser Health leadership sat down, listened to our doctors and hospital staff, and committed to action. The Minister also committed to meet with staff in hospitals across the province, who are also facing significant challenges as they struggle to provide safe patient care, to develop solutions that meet their local needs. This is an excellent first step. 

Doctors of BC will work with the provincial government to ensure that the commitments in Surrey result in action. We will also focus on ensuring needs are met at all the hospitals in BC where staff face significant pressures to meet the needs of patients. We need to look at this through a lens of equity – to share resources across all regions to meet the needs of our patients.

Moving forward, we will continue to work side-by-side with our members and with government to:

• Ensure that the short-, medium- and long-term commitments made in Surrey and Fraser Health are acted on in a timely way.
• Support conversations with hospital staff and government in all four corners of the province this summer to achieve action that will meet unique local needs and reflect the views of our members.
• Continue to meet, along with Consultant Specialists of BC, to address challenges for patients who need specialty care, including reducing wait times to see a specialist, and to address infrastructure and staffing needs so that patients with cancer can be diagnosed in a timely way here in BC.

Our health care challenges are complex and longstanding. The government has committed to continued dialogue and subsequent action. This is where we have been on our journey toward significant changes in primary care, and I am hopeful that we will build on what we have learned to deliver real results again for our patients, this time in our hospitals.

Doctors of BC looks forward to working with physicians, medical staff associations, government, and health authorities to deliver results for our patients.