LETTER: State of B.C.'s health-care system isn't acceptable

I have to take issue with the complacent editorial, Adding doctors won't cure all the problems, on the pace of health-care improvements in your Aug. 21 issue. To me, it is totally unacceptable that despite efforts made by governments over the last seven years, 24% of B.C. residents still don’t have access to a family doctor. Equally unacceptable are periodic closures and associated long-term waits in hospital emergency rooms, several-year waits for hip and knee replacements, and the difficulty in getting aging patients with dementia and similar issues into appropriate care facilities. It has got so bad that we are in danger of accepting the status quo as a normal state of affairs. I attribute this to a lack of priorities placed by governments on the issue and the apparent unwillingness to revisit the Canada Health Act and examine 'out-of-the-box' solutions to get more resources applied to the various problems and inefficiencies in the system. In making these criticisms, I totally applaud the dedication and hard work of the front-line doctors, surgeons and nurses who, once you get in the system, provide world-class care. A key reason for writing is that until more pressure is put on our elected government by citizens at large and the media (Black Press included), the glacial pace of change will continue (or not). Graham Williams North Saanich