'People are burnt out': B.C. doctor says primary care needs to be revamped
The family doctor crisis in B.C. is growing as locals become increasingly concerned about their ability to access primary care.
About 20 per cent of people in B.C. don't have a doctor and Dr. Josh Greggain from Doctors of B.C. told CTV Morning Live Monday primary care in the province isn't "adequately serviced right now."
Greggain said he's hearing two main things from his colleagues in the field.
"The first one is people are burnt out, tired, it's the long pandemic," he said.
"Secondarily it's really around value. What is my time valued as? How can I provide the service to the patients that I'm able to and how can we continue to provide more service to the patients who are currently unattached, that don't have access to care."
Greggain said the province's fee-for-service model, which pays physicians for each visit, needs to be adjusted.
"I think the big conversation is around the fact that the … fee-for-service is antiquated so to try to upgrade that or update that to ensure patients get better care and that the family physicians have the opportunity to provide the time that is necessary," he said.
"It's not that this current model is completely broken, it needs revamping, it needs reconfiguring and significantly more resources."
Late last month, a desperate Vancouver Island family paid nearly $300 to take out an ad in the newspaper looking for a doctor to fill prescriptions.
A Victoria doctor did eventually respond to their ad, taking the senior couple on at her practice.
In a statement, B.C.'s Health Ministry said it knows "many people in the province are feeling the effects of the capacity challenges our health-care system is facing, and this individual is no different."
"We take the challenge seriously, and are working as efficiently as we can to improve primary care for people in B.C.," the statement said.
The family said in its ad even the wait for virtual care was months long.
Greggain said virtual care has provided access to communities that didn't previously have any, but it shouldn't replace in-person care altogether.
"We believe that virtual care is an adjunct to face-to-face care and there's absolutely opportunities for people to get novel or creative care … I think it's of paramount importance that virtual care is both here and here to stay," he said.
"We have to balance that against the opportunity to continue to provide in-person care when it's both necessary, when it's accessible and when it's required."
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Shannon Paterson
Watch the full interview with Dr. Josh Greggain in the video player above.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.