Medical practitioners have many job options
With a letter published almost every day about the fallen-apart system of medical and mental-health care, let me add my voice by outlining how the problem will only accelerate and become exponential as the medical practitioners left, whether primary care or generalist specialists, are overburdened every day not just with volume of work, but with an unmanageable sense of defeat as a bitter and frustrated public expel their anger and sadness with questions of: “Where should we go? What are we supposed to do? But we have been waiting to see you! Why can’t you help?”
How can practitioners manage this offloading of stress and distress every day?
They will take flight and accept jobs that protect them from this tidal wave of need, behind walls of more specialized and remote teams, with very defined roles, and absolutely no surprises.
I listened all afternoon today to those expressions of “we are falling through the cracks!” and am grateful I have many other job options as one can only absorb so much collective need, anger, and futility.
Dr. Jennifer Balfour
Pediatrician
Victoria
Try the Cuban way of recruiting doctors
The doctor shortage in B.C. is at a critical stage and it’s time for drastic change.
The Cuban government pays the entire cost of a doctor’s education. In return, the new doctor has to become the family doctor in whatever region the country suggests for a specified amount of years.
This could work in B.C. for medical school attendees with financial needs.
B.C. would pay the potential doctor’s undergrad and medical school university costs plus a stipend for living expenses.
New doctors would be assigned to locations of need for a specified number of years.
Location would be based on school performance or possibly, by request or lottery.
If doctors did not complete the required number of years then their licence would not be valid.
This process would attract the most qualified candidates, not just students that could afford the costly tuition.
Robert Gardner
Sooke
Housing costs hurting local health care
Are housing costs one of the main problems with attracting family practitioners?
When a half-duplex, by no means a luxury residence, admittedly in a very nice district of Greater Victoria, is sold for more than a million dollars, no wonder we don’t have family practitioners settling here. Do our members of the legislature realize this?
I am surprised this situation is not recognized as a “probable cause” of no physicians. Would this apply in other locations too, such as Toronto and Vancouver?
Some sharp minds should be coming up with a solution – meanwhile the homeowners of our attractive neighbourhoods object to the placement of lower-income housing nearby.
So think carefully about this, objectors. Perhaps the province needs to supply housing so we do have doctors, plus enlarging and adding medical school training centres specifically for family practice.
That, of course, will take some time to show a result. How about some attractive residential buildings with back gardens, and playground equipment for young families, built by the province, with clinics on the ground floor?
Placed throughout the municipalities, with no zoning requirements.
Janet Doyle
Victoria
One step at a time, reduce plastics use
A recent letter about the City of Victoria’s efforts to reduce single-use items claimed that those of us who avoid using plastic bags have been “indoctrinated … to believe that bags are evil.”
Surely it is important to note why “fruit jugglers” make the deliberate, and obviously inconvenient, choice to reduce the usage of single-use plastic items.
The problem with plastic is that it won’t go away. It is estimated that a piece of plastic will take 400 to 500 years to break down. Global plastic production now averages more than 300 million metric tons per year, with estimates of there being 8.3 billion tons of plastic in the world since mass production began.
Proper recycling may reduce some of the new creation of plastic, but it doesn’t actually eliminate the amount of plastic that already exists. As long as new plastic products are being created, the problem will continue to grow.
I commend Victoria for doing what they can to help motivate individuals and businesses to reduce plastic usage. More education about why it is important to eliminate plastic usage is obviously necessary.
Even one less plastic bag is one less to be dealt with every generation between your children and your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandchildren.
Thankfully, some companies are making efforts to reduce plastic products and packaging.
Melissa Huston
Victoria
As the pandemic eases, dogs are cast aside
Months ago, my veterinarian told me about his concerns about rescue dogs for the time after the pandemic, when many rescue dogs would be dropped off and rehomed.
Did people have no ability to think about this when they rescued the dog? They obviously don’t think of the dog as a family member, but one of their convenience to play with and enjoy while fighting this pandemic.
The poor dog is confused and homesick thinking it has done something wrong. The dog has no family, no care, no health care, and no understanding of why he/she finds herself in this position.
They are not going to be very trusting of humans, and frankly, I can’t blame them at all.
Dogs are a life commitment for at least 12 years. They are not to be thrown away.
No wonder I find dogs to be a better partner than humans.
Ann Moxley
Saanich
Speculation tax is driving away investment
Four years after the speculation tax became law, our real estate market has exploded. The tax failed to make home ownership affordable but does allow politicians to claim they are addressing the problem. By largely targeting non-voters, it costs politicians nothing.
Despite its reassuring words about everyone paying their fair share, the speculation tax is grossly unfair. It does not exempt decisions made before it was passed.
Next the government may decide to tax families with more than one child because of the high public cost of educating children. You already have two kids? Tough luck!
While the speculation tax is a free lunch for politicians, it is not a free lunch for B.C. Investments create jobs and improve lives, but before spending money, investors need to know the rules.
By changing the rules after the fact, the speculation tax shows investors they can be blindsided by self-serving politicians, and they do not invest. Short term these effects are barely visible, but long term they will be huge.
John Pesando
Victoria
Think of greater good for all neighbours
Ask 10 people what affordable housing means and you will probably get 10 different definitions. Ask the various municipalities and the range of answers is similar.
Saanich council has approved a mammoth development bordering on Elk Lake Park which will include a small amount of affordable housing. The cheapest unit, a studio, will be about $500,000.
Saanich defines affordable housing to mean 10 per cent less than market value. So, an “affordable” studio would cost “only” $450,000. How many people can buy in even at that “low” price?
Most first-time home buyers will not be able to make a downpayment never mind be able to secure and service a mortgage on the remainder.
More to the point, this does not help families in need of affordable housing. The same holds true for rental accommodation; try to find a decent-sized apartment for a family with children. The only truly affordable housing being built is through civic-minded charitable groups, such as service clubs and other groups like Pacifica Housing and Habitat for Humanity.
To all those NIMBYs in every community, if truly affordable housing does not become more available, where do you think businesses will find entry-level salary and minimum-wage earners to work for them? Good luck trying to get your morning specialty latte!
Would the provincial government ever take bold action? Highly unlikely. It wants to get re-elected and depends on voters who too often think about what affects their own pocketbooks, and not the greater good of all members of society.
David Hogg
Saanich
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