The B.C. Liberal government is failing patients and taxpayers.
That is why the British Columbia Anesthesiologists' Society recently applied to the B.C. Supreme Court for intervener standing in Dr. Brian Day's constitutional challenge of the province's health-care laws.
Day argues it is unconstitutional to ban private health insurance while the public system fails to deliver timely care. Admittedly, his prescription is a hard pill for many to swallow.
In response, the government continues to mislead the public by claiming that wait lists are shrinking and patients are benefiting from more timely care. Unfortunately, the evidence is not on their side. While bureaucrats and other vested interests cling to the status quo, their false claims perpetuate a system that routinely denies reasonable access to care for thousands of British Columbians.
The provincial government and its health authorities are making decisions that ration patient care. For example, hospital administrators force operating-room closures and place administrative bans on nursing overtime. These decisions result in cancelled surgeries and put patients at risk. They also waste taxpayer funds.
The BCAS wants to protect the public system and improve its ability to address the needs of our patients. This is possible, even within current healthcare budgets. Solutions exist, but they need to be based on accurate evidence of how the health-care system works ... or fails to work.
The B.C. attorney general opposes our application to present this evidence. In fact, the government does not want the Supreme Court to see any of the information we have about the health-care system. It's a sad day for B.C. if this is what passes for open and transparent government.
Let's look at the facts.
Over the last 11 years, B.C.'s health-care budget has doubled. Health care now consumes $17.5 billion per year, or 42 per cent of the government's entire operating budget.
Despite the doubled funding, the government reports that the number of waitlisted patients who get their surgery is the same today as it was 12 years ago. The government reports that 72,331 British Columbians are currently waiting for essential surgical care.
Thousands of other British Columbians have life-altering chronic pain conditions (e.g. amputations, cancer, nerve injuries). The wait to see a pain specialist is up to two or three years in many parts of the province, including Vancouver.
Even if Day wins his court case, 99 per cent of British Columbians will continue to rely on the public system. We need to make sure it provides the care they need and deserve. That starts with a good dose of reality about what the problems are today.
Dr. Roland Orfaly is the chief executive officer of the B.C. Anesthesiologists' Society.
