Medical emergency for a 98-year-old
A few months ago, my mother and I received a letter from our medical clinic that our doctor was leaving the clinic. In desperation I called the clinic to find out if any of the other doctors would be able to take over our care.
No such luck and since the waiting list had more than 2,000 names, they weren’t adding any more. Unceremoniously dumped, my mother and I were devastated.
Our doctor had provided excellent care to us for two years but for whatever reason, she left. We are now doctorless.
I was born and raised in Victoria and always had a doctor looking after me. My father, Dr. C.Y. Brown, set up practice in internal medicine and rheumatology in the early 1950s and met other pioneering doctors such as Dr. Peter Ransford (my pediatrician) who worked hard to build first-class medical care for Victoria.
The blueprint for B.C.’s modern emergency health services was in thanks to visionaries such as Ransford. After decades of caring for Victoria’s afflicted, my father retired, but before he left his practice he made sure another doctor took over all of his patients to ensure continuity of care — a concept woefully lost in this modern era.
What has happened to the family doctor since those pioneering days? I have to place the blame on government ineptitude. Surely we can muster the will, dedication and funding to build up the much-needed family practice.
Already there is a heavy toll that we are paying with delayed diagnoses, missed opportunities for preventive care and cancer screenings.
My mother is 98 years old, frail and can barely walk. No physicians on the Island are taking new patients and she is unable to wait outside in the lineup to a walk-in clinic.
For her and thousands of others, this is cruel and inhumane and shouldn’t be tolerated any longer. NDP government, this is a medical emergency! Fix the problem, stat!
Lori Whyte
Ladysmith
Not enough doctors? Stop building homes
Maybe it’s not so much a doctor shortage as just too many people.
The whole Capital Regional District is building faster and most buildings are bigger and taller than the one before it.
Little or no thought is given to infrastructure, schools, hospitals or doctors. Just build.
Wendy Lojstrup
Brentwood Bay
Finding a doctor amid the unchecked growth
Depending on the community development prognostications that you read, the West Shore (in one example) will grow by 7,000 to 12,000 homes over the next seven to 10 years.
That equates to around 20,000 more cars parked on the street, in driveways and clogging byways.
If you crunch the numbers, we’ll need a minimum of 10 to 20 new doctors to service those settlers and their immediate families.
Sadly there is no solid plan for recruitment of those medical professionals and the many more that are needed for our aging population.
Solution: Word has it, we have a lot of doctors, lawyers and engineers — new to Canada — who are toiling away driving cabs and delivering fast food.
Maybe we need to fund a training program to get those professionals up to speed. I’d happily open my wallet and pay more tax for the benefit of everyone.
Colin Newell
Victoria
Government must fix doctor shortage
Two letters in Wednesday’s paper pointed out once again the growing shortage of family doctors.
Although this problem (totally inadequate remuneration) didn’t originate with the current government, the John Horgan administration has taken active steps to make it that much worse by subsidizing mega-clinics and by refusing to address the underlying issue.
The family physician is the foundation of our public health system and is essential to providing it with a human face. If the NDP is unwilling to remedy the situation, perhaps we should look for a government that is prepared to do so.
John Sutherland
Victoria
New Spirit Route name is not accurate
The name change of the Pacific Marine Circle Route to the Spirit Route is missing something.
I’ve driven it a handful of times, and I would say it should have been called the Spirit of Clearcut Route because most of the scenery consists of damage caused by logging.
C. Scott Stofer
Victoria
The cruise line future: Larger, fewer ships
Re: “Our new reality — fewer cruise-ship visits,” commentary. Oct. 9.
It should be noted that the dock extension at Ogden Point was added to accommodate the ultra-large cruise ships that were calling before last year.
These ships are too large to make Vancouver a home port for the simple fact that transiting under Lions Gate Bridge requires a low tide and favourable wind conditions if they can even fit under; next to impossible to schedule. This is not an issue in Seattle or Victoria.
The cruise lines have been selling off or scrapping many of the smaller ships that were built for the Alaska run in favour of the ultra-large cruise ships. This likely will have a negative impact on Vancouver’s cruise business as well.
Banning cruisers from Victoria without consultation played right into their hands. As stated by Paul Servos, the cruisers can now run slower to maintain their Seattle schedule, thereby saving fuel.
Larger ships in Seattle translates to fewer ships, therefore more dock availability; Vancouver will not be so important for overflow.
However, there will always be some demand from some cruise lines to stop in both Vancouver and Victoria such as the small high end ships and at the beginning and end of season.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the cruise lines encourage Victoria to spend money on infrastructure (that they will never use) to lure them back.
They have done this many times elsewhere to provide a bargaining chip to lower port costs, in Vancouver or Seattle for example.
Ed Lien
Victoria
Immediate action needed in Iqaluit
What is happening to the water supply in Iqaluit is rapidly morphing into a national, ethnic and international embarrassment and disgrace.
The silence from the PM and the Privy Council Office is deafening. This is a situation which demands swift, appropriate and urgent action, which is evidently not forthcoming.
I offer the following humble suggestions for the actions the prime minister might want to consider to help our (mostly) Indigenous northern countrymen — sorry, countrypeople.
First: Declare this a disaster (Don’t wait for Nunavut to ask) and send in immediate help — water — to the 7,700 inhabitants who are in desperate need of it.
Second: Don’t charge for this action — they have already paid enough.
Third: Immediately task the army engineers to investigate the cause(s) of this and remain on scene to fix the problem permanently.
Fourth: Just think of the surfing you could do up there while visiting our Indigenous northern neighbours!
I am not holding my breath waiting for any reaction from what I used to call “Disneyland on the Rideau Canal,” while I was still a naval officer serving in Ottawa.
Captain Steen Jessen
RCN (Retired)
Victoria
Vic High housing plan is simply too big
Re: “Public get their say on plan for housing near Vic High,” Oct. 21.
As a close resident to the proposed rental housing project next to Vic High, I have deep concerns regarding the size of this project.
Just thinking of going from the existing 22 units to 158 units (as per the public hearing notice) should cause most people to gasp.
This compact neighbourhood already hosts a high school, Fernwood Square businesses, community centre, daycares, theatre and Cook Street businesses. The bordering Gladstone Avenue is already extremely busy with delivery vehicles, daycare drop-offs, and high school staff and students.
There already is very limited “residential parking” on surrounding streets, with massive influxes of vehicles during event times at Royal Athletic Park and Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The biggest debacle of this proposal is that it requires taking land away from Vic High School. A planned revitalization of the track, field and stadium has reduced a proposed eight-lane track to a two-lane track. How is this even functional for a high school?
The land grab also will reduce the infield from a regulation size to a much smaller size, no longer usable for sharing with local soccer teams.
Rental housing is desperately needed in Victoria and building on this site is a good plan, but not the proposed size, which will result in an already busy area to burst at the seams and cost Vic High students the access to proper track and field facilities for generations to come.
Tanya Descoteau
Victoria
No need for peer review, we have our opinions
Re: “No, that vehicle traffic does not evaporate,” letters, Oct 21.
Anyone can quickly Google the term “traffic evaporation” and read about the overwhelming peer-reviewed evidence that traffic evaporates when road space is reallocated to bike and roll routes or transit lanes.
But peer-reviewed studies do not stop some people from making up their own facts about COVID vaccines or climate science — why would transportation planning be any different?
Eric Doherty
Registered professional planner
Victoria
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