If you have a stroke in Langford, you can be at Victoria General Hospital in about 10 minutes, receiving highly specialized medical care from on-site neurologists.

But what happens if you have a stroke in Port Renfrew, about 100 kilometres away or two hours by car, or you suffer a traumatic injury in Sooke that requires a higher level of care beyond what the local medical clinic can provide?

ItB次元官网网址檚 a situation Premier John Horgan, whoB次元官网网址檚 also the MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca, wants fixed as he tackles the inequality of health care in the Sooke region and other rural areas of B.C.

B次元官网网址淩ight now, I would argue there isnB次元官网网址檛 equitable access to care,B次元官网网址� Horgan said.

B次元官网网址淭he [Island Health] notion that Sooke is a bedroom community of Victoria must be discounted. ItB次元官网网址檚 too far from here to VGH.B次元官网网址�

For years, local politicians have bemoaned the lack of health-care services in the Sooke Region B次元官网网址� from too few doctors to inadequate X-ray facilities. The lobbying dates back to 2005 when politicians tried to stimulate some progress in local health care.

Mayor Maja Tait formed the Sooke Primary Health Care Services Working Group shortly after the 2014 election and has worked tirelessly to lobby senior level of governments for better health care for the region.

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Next month, the highly-anticipated Sooke Region Community Health Services Plan, put together by Island Health, the South Island Division of Family Practice, the District of Sooke and other health stakeholders, will be presented to the broader community at a public forum.

The plan is still in draft form, Tait said, and examines both the short and long term health care needs in Sooke.

For Horgan, SookeB次元官网网址檚 biggest health care need is for a primary care facility. And heB次元官网网址檚 willing to take it a step farther by proposing a campus of care.

A campus of care is several buildings located on the same property that can provide health care to a broad spectrum of the community.

Horgan said Sooke is not only in need of doctors but other health-care professionals such as physiotherapists, X-ray technicians, dietitians, nurses, and social workers.

B次元官网网址淧rimary care is something IB次元官网网址檝e talked to doctors, talked to local politicians about. Now IB次元官网网址檓 in a position to deliver on it,B次元官网网址� Horgan said.

editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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