By Dave Branco

Rural doctors have concerns with emergency transportation

Feb 27, 2019 | 9:17 AM

FORT ST. JAMES – According to Doctor Pieter Van Zyl, the Chief of Staff at the Stuart Lake Hospital in Fort St. James, physicians are at the end of their rope in their community when it comes to emergency transport of critically ill patients.

In particular, he says they struggle with the emergency transportation of critically ill patients to higher levels of care.  

According to Dr. Van Zyl, the issue has become a concern for other small communities from Burns Lake to Valemount.  What physicians would like to see is adequate and timely transport of critically ill patients so they receive equal care to patients down south.  

According to a report released this morning by B.C. Auditor General Carol Bellringer, it states BC Emergency Health Services is in the midst of a transformational change of its service to better match its resources to patient needs. 

This includes increasing the number of paramedics and ambulances, as well as introducing a new dispatch approach, with the goal of shortening response times for patients who need care the most. 

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