As your editorial There’s no quick fix to B.C.’s doctor shortage pointed out, we do have a severe medical and health problem in this province, given the shortage of doctors and nurses. But as to there being no quick fix, I disagree.
Health Minister Adrian Dix has himself claimed that there are close to 3,000 doctors and nurses (full-time, part-time and nurses-on-call) who were fired for their decision not to take the COVID injections, this after doing their own competent and professional research into the virus and the untested vaccines that were made mandatory. The health minister and his public health officer, Bonnie Henry, have finally decreed that those who were fired may now “re-apply” for their positions.
Why the requirement to re-apply? This makes no sense. Aren’t these professionals sorely needed on the job right now? Have their excellent qualifications somehow expired? If they were qualified to work in their respective fields during COVID and were applauded for doing so in the nightly pots-and-pans acknowledgments, are they not still qualified now that the injections are no longer required in the general population?
So no, Minister Dix, you are not throwing “everything and the kitchen sink” at this problem. If you were, you’d rehire those thousands of capable and sorely needed health workers immediately. And yes, the question is indeed how much damage has been done. The answer? Based on the hundreds of thousands of British Columbians without a doctor and the unconscionable waits for medical care, the damage is ongoing and monumental in scope.
Dolores Bell
Central Saanich
