It was troubling to learn this week that a senior psychiatrist had withdrawn his services from Sechelt Hospital’s emergency room due to unsafe working conditions.
But it didn’t come as a total surprise.
In a recent Doctors of BC survey of health-care facilities operated by Vancouver Coastal Health, Sechelt Hospital’s doctors reported – by far – the highest level of dissatisfaction with VCH leadership. Equally alarming, their attitudes toward VCH appear to have deteriorated sharply from the previous year.
Now the Sunshine Coast medical community has rallied around Dr. Anthony Barale, who said he decided to pull out of the ER effective Dec. 6 because he was “no longer prepared to risk life and limb for an organization that has consistently paid scant attention to our myriad of concerns communicated to VCH over many years.”
A letter from the hospital’s facility engagement committee says administrators have known about the safety issues for more than six years, but VCH has demonstrated “no sense of urgency” and all attempts to remedy the situation have been blocked.
Both sides were tight-lipped heading into a meeting later this week. A VCH official said in a statement that the health authority is “committed to ensuring Sechelt Hospital is a safe environment for all patients and staff.” The doctors have heard this before and want action now.
Bureaucratic failure, when it becomes chronic and public, is political negligence.
We call on Health Minister Adrian Dix to take responsibility for this mess and fix it.
