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Health minister meets with last dermatologist in Kamloops, rebuffs BCMA

Health Minister Terry Lake sat down with the last remaining Kamloops dermatologist on Friday to discuss the province’s shortage of skin specialists. But he rebuffed the B.C.

Health Minister Terry Lake sat down with the last remaining Kamloops dermatologist on Friday to discuss the province’s shortage of skin specialists.

But he rebuffed the B.C. Medical Association’s (BCMA) head of dermatology, who flew to Kamloops for the express purpose of joining the meeting.

“I’ve been trying to meet with somebody in the ministry of health for a long, long time . . . so it’s not like they’re just hearing from me for the first time,” said Coquitlam’s Dr. Evert Tuyp. “I just can’t get an audience.”

Lake said he turned Tuyp away because he wanted to have an informal discussion with someone he knows personally and trusts to broaden his understanding of the issue rather than an official political meeting.

“I don’t want to get into the politics of meeting with every specialty group — I don’t think that’s the minister’s role,” said Lake.

But every other specialty isn’t in the same precarious boat as dermatology, said Tuyp.

B.C. dermatologists are the lowest paid skin specialists in the country and that’s causing a shortage that Tuyp says will shortly hit crisis proportions.

“When it gets to the point that the patients are suffering . . . that’s nasty,” said Tuyp. 

The province has 24 vacant positions and if all remains the same, the worst is yet to come, said Tuyp.

The lone Kamloops dermatologist, Dr. Dick Lewis, has de-enrolled from the Medical Services Plan in protest.

Lewis could not be reached for comment.

Tuyp said he and Lewis both insist that the province needs to influence the BCMA into negotiating better terms for skin specialists.

Lake said he’s aware of the problems retaining dermatologists in B.C. and he’s hopeful that the province, the BCMA and dermatology representatives can meet in the near future.

He said he’s aware that as the population ages, issues such as malignant skin disease increase and dermatologists are best at addressing those needs.

“But there’s limited funds, as we know — we’re trying to make health-care costs sustainable,” said Lake.

Tuyp said the province’s contention that there isn’t the money is “penny wise and pound foolish.”

“Quite frankly, not having enough dermatologists is more expensive than having enough,” he said. “And it’s bad medicine.”

That’s because people with skin problems won’t sit around waiting for a solution if they or their children are up all night with itching, burning or painful skin night after night.

They’ll keep trying to get a remedy at family doctors, pediatricians, walk-in clinics or hospital emergency rooms.

Lake said each medical specialty could make the same claim.

“There are ways, I guess, that there could be increased costs to the system, but those are really tough things to try to get the bottom line on,” said Lake.

Tuyp said he’ll continue to try to impart the urgency of the situation to the province and the BCMA and Lake’s rebuff “just stiffens my resolve.”

“I have to redouble my efforts because obviously the message isn’t getting through,” he said. “And if the message doesn’t get through, the people of B.C. are going to have problems with dermatologic care.”