Fixing Our Healthcare
The healthcare crisis in BC is reaching a tipping point, and it’s time to confront the harsh reality residents are facing. We all take pride in our universal healthcare system - and we should - but it’s also important to acknowledge when parts of the system are failing the very residents it is hoping to serve. When I tore my ligament in a leg injury, I experienced the agonizingly long wait times that have become all too common. After waiting for hours just to see a doctor at Lions Gate Hospital, I was forced to wait months to see a specialist. On the other hand, when my dog broke his knee in an accident, I was able to get his surgery done the very next day. I’m extremely thankful that my dog was able to get prompt and effective healthcare, but it does beg the question - what about the humans?
Unfortunately, my story is not unique—it’s a reflection of a much larger issue affecting thousands of residents across the region. And while mine was just a torn ligament, there are horror stories of cancer patients who have to wait months for treatment.
The numbers paint a grim picture. British Columbia has the longest wait times for walk-in clinics in Canada, with North Vancouver having the longest average wait time at 187 minutes to see a doctor—more than two and a half hours. This is not just inconvenient; it's unacceptable. These delays are causing real harm, particularly for the elderly and those with serious health conditions who cannot afford to wait.
Currently, more than 270,000 British Columbians are on an official waiting list for a family doctor, and the actual number of people without access to primary care is likely much higher. Many residents, unable to secure a family doctor, are forced to use emergency rooms as their only option for medical care. This situation is putting immense pressure on the ER at Lions Gate Hospital, which is often over capacity, leading to further delays and suboptimal care.
The statistics are alarming, but the personal stories behind them are even more distressing. Consider the case of West Vancouver-Capilano’s MLA Karin Kirkpatrick, who herself said she tried to see a doctor through a walk-in at an urgent care centre in Victoria, only to be told to go home and phone to make an appointment for another day. Or the increasing number of referrals that specialists like Dr. Kevin McLeod are seeing for patients who lack access to primary care—referrals that come too late, when conditions have worsened and become more difficult and expensive to treat.
Despite some progress, the situation remains dire. The introduction of primary care networks, where family doctors work alongside nurses and mental health clinicians, is a step in the right direction, but these changes are slow to take effect. Thousands of people are still without a family doctor with an average wait time of eight to ten months to connect a patient with a doctor in North Vancouver—and up to a year in West Vancouver.
These delays are unacceptable, particularly in an area as vibrant and growing as Metro Vancouver. While the government's efforts to improve the situation are acknowledged, it is clear that much more needs to be done.
To truly address the healthcare crisis in BC, we need a bold, common sense approach —not the half-hearted measures the BC NDP’s government has failed to deliver. First, we must overhaul hospital funding to reward efficiency and outcomes, ensuring that hospitals are incentivized to invest more in frontline health workers and less on administrative staff to reduce those unacceptable wait times - an approach which has already been implemented in Australia, Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands to great success
Second, we need to refocus the BC provincial immigration programs to attract doctors and cut healthcare wait times immediately. This includes fast-tracking the process for internationally trained doctors to gain accreditation and begin practicing sooner. By streamlining the process, we can enable these doctors to start practicing under the supervision of a qualified senior doctor, even if they can't practice independently right away—similar to how a paralegal can work under a lawyer without being called to the bar themselves. This approach will bring in much-needed expertise and help alleviate the pressure on our healthcare system.
Third, we should allow choice and competition in the delivery of healthcare services while retaining universal access for all British Columbians. Anytime the word “private healthcare” is used in BC, it sets off a dog whistle for American-style private healthcare but stay with me here as that’s not what we are talking about. We are talking about the kind of hybrid public-private healthcare model that Sweden - a shining example of a social healthcare state - has. Under this model, the delivery of healthcare can happen both by public as well as private clinics - but everything is paid for by our universal healthcare model. The end-patient most often doesn’t even get to realize whether their service provider is public or private, and the only card they ever have to show is their BC Healthcare card. By allowing private clinics to operate alongside public healthcare to deliver health service, we can increase access to care, have more clinics and hospitals, reduce wait times, and improve overall service quality without compromising the principle of universal healthcare. And again - data exists to back this up by looking at how Sweden enhanced its social healthcare system by adopting this hybrid public-private model over 20 years ago.
The current state of healthcare in BC is unsustainable. It’s not just about numbers or statistics—it’s about the real people who are being let down by a system that was supposed to care for them. We need to demand better, for ourselves and for our community. These solutions offer a path forward that can truly make a difference, and the time for change is now.