Independent review of B.C. COVID response calls for better communication, transparency
A review of British Columbia's COVID-19 response released Friday says despite being unprepared for the pandemic, the province showed “resilience, balance and nimbleness” during the emergency.
That's despite nearly 75 per cent of the people surveyed as part of the independent review reporting they didn't trust information coming from the government.
However, both the report's authors and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth say the online survey was not representative of the population as a whole and the results showed significantly more dissatisfaction than other public opinion research.
The review, which included meetings with 145 organizations and the survey with 15,000 respondents, made 26 findings including recommendations around better communication, transparency, data collection and improved public trust.
At a news conference, Farnworth said the government tried to be as open as possible during the pandemic and based its decisions on the best public health advice available.
“I think the approach that we took was the right one, but obviously we learned lessons from that and we welcome the feedback and report,” he said.
“What that will allow us to do is to be better prepared in the future. And we will always be looking at ways in which we can make improvements when it comes to maintaining the public's trust.”
The report says the level of trust in the government's response was very high in the initial stages of the pandemic, thanks in part to the daily media briefing lead by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
But, like in other provinces, that eroded, leaving the province in need of ways to rebuild.
Division stoked by vaccine mandates demonstrated that “a significant minority” resist public health measures, it says.
The report says there is concern “that eroding trust may translate into more resistance to restrictions necessitated by the next provincewide emergency.”
Among steps that could help with public trust, the report suggests the government find better ways to explain why decisions are made and condition the public to expect change during emergencies.
They say establishing expert advisory panels would contribute to better explanations and suggest the amount of data released by the government did not adjust as quickly as it could have when growing case numbers meant less individual privacy concerns.
“The balance between privacy and transparency could be more regularly examined and clearly communicated, as necessary to maintain public trust,” the report says.
The review highlights a lack of provincewide health-care data collection infrastructure, which it calls “a long-standing issue for health-care system management and public health.”
In B.C., there are 37 different administrative IT systems in hospitals and health authorities, many of which are not able to exchange information with each other or with central systems.
When it came to personal protective equipment for hospital staff, the province was forced to create a new system to manage provincewide inventory, the report says.
Collecting hospitalization data was a “laborious daily manual exercise, affecting timeliness and accuracy” because of the system incompatibility.
There was also no ability to automatically track vaccinations on a provincewide basis, meaning a new system had to be created “in record time,” the report says.
“Government should consider how best to deal with the disparate set of IT systems, data definitions and data collection practices to ensure that the health-care system is able to assemble needed data that is timely and accurate,” it says.
Farnworth said many of the findings in the review are part of work already underway to prepare B.C. for future provincewide emergencies.
He said the province is now more co-ordinated, has a better understanding of supply chain concerns and is updating its pandemic provincial co-ordination plan.
“I think everything that we went through, both what worked and the challenges, are going to allow us next time to be better prepared,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels will take the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bank of Canada says financial system is stable, but risks remain
The Bank of Canada says the Canadian financial system is stable, but risks remain due to debt servicing costs among households and businesses and stretched valuations of financial assets.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
RateMDs violates privacy of health professionals, class-action lawsuit claims
A lawsuit against RateMDs has been given the go-ahead by a B.C. Supreme Court judge who found the claim that the website violates the privacy rights of medical professionals is not 'bound to fail.'
Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Court to hear about search for remains as Winnipeg murder trial enters second day
A courtroom in Winnipeg is expected to hear testimony today about the search for the remains of the four victims of Jeremy Skibicki.