Editor:
I was stopped in a ferry lineup recently, TAP form in hand. I was more than 30 minutes early for the sailing, but I had to call my specialist in Vancouver saying I’d miss my appointment.
The appointment wasn’t “urgent” as BC Ferries defines the rules for Medical Assured Loading. Rather, it was medically necessary, and no doctor on the Coast could perform the same services.
I felt bad. My missed appointment would create a gap in the lineup for a scarce medical service that another patient might have used.
With all the confusion between the government’s directive on MAL and BC Ferries’ interpretation of it, you would think the powers that be would opt for the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid). A check box on TAP forms that could be signed or initialled by a doctor would do.
If the cost of printing new TAP forms is an obstacle, how about issuing a stamp to doctors that they could impress onto TAP forms stating: “This patient requires priority loading.”
This would cost the ferries nothing, save doctors the cost of missed appointments, and help to reduce waits for needed medical care.
Elizabeth Rains, Gibsons
