Grand Forks City Councillor Christine Thompson says she is disappointed, but not giving up the cause of regional health board changes after her resolution was voted down at the Association of Kootenay and Boundary Local Governments (AKBLG).
The conference, held in Radium Hot Springs last week, brought municipal governments together to collaborate and vote on resolutions to bring to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM)
Unfortunately, a resolution calling for regional governments to work more closely with regional health boards was narrowly voted down by a single vote.
The resolution was to augment health authorities, said Thompson. Specifically, it stated: “Health Care in British Columbia is inadequate to meet the needs of the population, as shown by the closure of beds in local hospitals and closures of emergency rooms at times when no qualified staff are available to work. Since 2001, health authorities have governed the provision of health care in their respective areas, but are not held accountable for policy decisions and the negative impacts those decisions have on local communities. Therefore, be it resolved the UBCM petition the provincial government to consider augmenting health authorities with regional district boards of health responsible for health care where there is a regional hospital. And be it further resolved the regional district boards appoint a local board of directors responsible for health care and that such board must include representation from doctors, nurses, lab techs and administration.”
While she is disappointed it was voted down, Thompson pointed out it did get a lot of support subsequent to the failure.
The reason she brought this resolution forward, she said, was to address ongoing concerns over problems accessing quality health care not just in Interior Health, but across the province.
“There is a place for a health authority to deal with other health issues, but when it comes to health care in local hospitals, there has to be better representation,” said Thompson.
The hope was to have this resolution pass and have it go on to the UBCM for further discussion and voting, then if it passed there it would be sent on to the provincial government as a policy reform they could consider.
While the resolution didn’t pass, she said this issue isn’t going away. Her next step is to have a meeting with Boundary-Similkameen MLA Roly Russell, hopefully with Mayor Everett Baker and CAO Duncan Redfearn with her, to see how they can send a similar resolution to Health Minister Adrian Dix to get his feedback.
“As long as I sit on council, I’m not letting this issue die because it is too important,” she said. “I don’t think the minister has a good comprehension of what it is like in rural British Columbia when it comes to health care.”
Despite this setback, Mayor Everett Baker said in a statement it was “a great opportunity to network and learn from other elected representatives from across the region.”
Along with Mayor Baker, city councillors Zak Eburne-Stoodley, Deborah Lafleur, Chrisine Thompson and RDKB Area D-Rural Grand Forks Director Linda Kay Wiese, Area C-Christina Lake Director Grace McGregor and Area E-West Boundary Director Sharen Gibbs were also in attendance.