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Seeking a solution

The emergency room at St. Mary's Hospital will be staffed for the month of April.

The emergency room at St. Mary's Hospital will be staffed for the month of April. As for long term - who knows?

Coast doctors have managed to stretch their schedules to fill April's shifts, but with no recruits in sight and word that two doctors could retire in the next few months, the situation is reaching critical levels.

Last Sunday, several doctors were the guest speakers at a forum sponsored by the Council of Senior Citizens' Organizations of B.C.

Doctors spoke out against the privatization of health care and the strain they are feeling with depleting resources.

Doctors have been calling for help since early February when Coast Reporter learned of the ER crisis from Dr. Jane Bishop and other doctors on the Coast who made public their concerns for patient and health care on the Coast.

The message in February from doctors and then again at Sunday's forum was loud and clear - they need help and they need it now. The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA) needs to step up to the plate immediately.

But so far, it seems, VCHA is offering only a short-term solution.

Dr. David Lupton from VCHA met with doctors in mid-February when news of the crisis first became public. Lupton returned last week, but failed to bring any immediate solutions.

It seems VCHA is still trying to determine the best course of action. The head of VCHA emergency services is slated to tour hospital districts over the next few months in search of a solution.

And you know what that means - this person will do tours over the course of a few months. That will take us into May or June. A report will be generated, which will take probably another month. VCHA will review the report and send their findings to the Ministry of Health and then they'll generate a report, which may get into the hands of the premier shortly after that - most likely by the end of August or maybe September. The way this plan looks to us, doctors on the Coast shouldn't expect any immediate answers until probably late this year or even early 2008. That's simply unacceptable.

We realize VCHA has to look for long-term solutions. We realize they are in a difficult position and St. Mary's Hospital is not the only hospital in the health authority feeling the budget crunch and a strain on resources. But answers need to be found now - for the immediate future - not just long-term.

We're imploring the provincial government to step in and aid VCHA in finding solutions to our ER crisis.