Adam Olsen

MLA for Saanich North and the Islands

An estimated 15,000 residents of Saanich North and the Islands are without primary health care.

Without a family doctor, or a primary care network, you will find yourself sitting in walk-in clinics or emergency rooms addressing each issue, not your overall health, with a doctor who doesnB次元官网网址檛 know you. That is called episodic care. It means no prevention, early intervention, or continuity of care. It means a diminished quality of life.

Currently, most family doctors run small businesses. They operate in a fee-for-service model where they bill the provincial government about $30 for each patient visit. With that, they cover their salary, costs of running an office, and their staffing.

However, in the last few years primary health care in British Columbia changed. The family doctor system that was created decades ago isnB次元官网网址檛 feasible for most doctors now, and it doesnB次元官网网址檛 encourage diversity in family doctors. IB次元官网网址檝e heard clearly that doctors want a shift to team-based care B次元官网网址� think doctor, nurse-practitioner, registered nurse B次元官网网址� working together for our health and well-being.

Rather than entirely changing this model, the BC NDPB次元官网网址檚 approach is to sort of change it. Some doctors stay in the fee-for-service system while others are contracted by the local health authority to work in urgent and primary care centres (UPCCs).

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ItB次元官网网址檚 no wonder that fewer and fewer family doctors are running their own practices. These UPCC contracts pay more money, they give a better work-life balance, and they make it easier to provide care by working within a team. But these clinics see fewer patients, theyB次元官网网址檙e open at reduced hours, and theyB次元官网网址檙e not easy to get into.

An even larger threat to equitable, universal health care in B.C. is looming B次元官网网址� corporatization, and with it, fees for better service.

Loblaws and Telus provide two different virtual care services, where you can access a virtual walk-in clinic and professionals like dietitians and registered nurses. These corporations charge the government for these services and deliver them as an extension of our primary health-care system. But they donB次元官网网址檛 stop there. As you might expect with for-profit companies, their real business is in making money from our health-care needs.

You can collect PC Optimum Points by using LoblawsB次元官网网址� app B次元官网网址� and those points can be spent in-store. Telus offers LifePlus, a B次元官网网址減remierB次元官网网址� service at the cost of $4,000 per year for the first year, and $3,000 every year after. What do you get for your thousands of dollars? Annual screenings for early detection and intervention, advanced diagnostics, and access to team-based care.

Remember I said you can pay for better service. Well as it turns out the B次元官网网址渂etter serviceB次元官网网址� is the same service we used to get as part of our universal primary care from our family doctor.

ItB次元官网网址檚 astonishing that the BC NDP is supporting mega-corporations taking over our primary health-care system. ItB次元官网网址檚 a threat to one of the most fundamental Canadian values: equitable, freely accessible health care.

We know an unwell population has a lower quality of life and increases the burden on our taxpayer-funded health-care system.

We know regular screenings can find a small problem threatening to become a big one, but caught early, a health-care team can intervene and keep us in better health.

I have heard from my constituents that they want a consistent and reliable relationship with a health and well-being advocate, who can help answer their most personal questions, and help navigate their most challenging times.

Life-long health care is better for people and a more efficient health-care system. But British Columbians arenB次元官网网址檛 getting it B次元官网网址� instead, theyB次元官网网址檙e getting fewer family doctors and a growing divide in health between those who can pay, and those who canB次元官网网址檛.

Adam Olsen is the MLA for Saanich North and the Islands.