In 2006, The Province of British Columbia in Canada took an innovative political approach to improving the provincial health care system following earlier financial cuts and service restrictions. These followed agreements during 2003 which increased spending for doctor remuneration in an attempt to attract more to a provincial shortage. At the same time, wages set for nursing and other support staff were restricted or reduced.

British Columbia is a huge territory with a large number of the population living in a conurbanization including Vancouver and surrounding cities. At least 90% of the province presents the difficulty for providing effective and cost-efficient services by having low population densities with long distances between lager towns and small cities. The demand for medical services and conventional health care options is often inadequate to justify full-time staff and this has resulted in high paid permanent part-time staff and poor utilization of some medical devices and facilities.

Notes from the Patient Focus Groups and the Regional Forums together with the Weekly Reports on Submissions, available from the BC Conversations on Health website, will provide you with the nature of the concerns of the public together with the degree of frustration and anger with the system.

Satisfied and happy persons rarely attend or participate in such forums on the belief that they have nothing to contribute and the commitment to the continued satisfaction of their current lifestyle and employment concerns and resolution of their non-health challenges and opportunities. Participants are often those who are severely angered and frustrated by their own experience with the system, or, that of a close friend or relative. This is significant for a great many individuals are passive in this regard.

CONSIDER:

1945-1954 Health Expenditure was 1.2% of budget.
2005-2014 Health Expenditure is 42.0% of budget.

PERSONAL

I am posting my own contributions here as an extension of my website and pesonal activities and concerns. I encourage you to participate in the forums, contribute to the government website entries, and, above all --- encourage others to participate and get the media involved.

Political CHANGE seldom happens in a democracy unless a significant number of citizens make their concerns, options, solutions, and commitments know to their nominated and elected representatives. People cannot participate if they are unaware of the option. There is no one mass medium which can effectively inform all of the citizens even if massive amounts of money are spent for this reason. More people will participate if they gain confidence from the knowledge that others they know are taking such steps.

If YOU do not take the opportunity to encourage positive change, don't complain later when you grieve the needless loss of a spouse, friend, or relative from an illness or injury which could have been prevented, recovered from in a timely manner, or reduced in its degree of disabling influence.