This article was written by Tricia Leslie and originally published by the Peace Arch News
With population growth and underfunding leading to a lack of critical health services, Peace Arch Hospital and Community Health Foundation has joined forces with two other hospital foundations to advocate on behalf of residents and patients in the South Fraser region.
The foundation and its counterparts supporting Langley Memorial Hospital and Delta Hospital announced on Tuesday (Oct. 13) creation of the South Fraser Healthcare Alliance, a new coalition created to collectively advocate to the provincial government for equitable health-care access and fair health investment for the South Fraser Region.
The alliance is calling for health-care funding, infrastructure and capacity to keep pace with the population growth and increasing demand across one of British Columbia’s fastest-growing — and most underfunded — regions.
“Having lived in the region for more than 50 years, I know how important it is to have a strong, local hospital,” Peter Fassbender, chair of the South Fraser Healthcare Alliance and a director on Langley Community Health and Hospital Foundation’s 19-member board, said in a release.
“Delta, Langley, South Surrey and White Rock are experiencing many of the same pressures as our population grows and demand increases. We established this alliance to speak with one voice and advocate for health-care investment and regional needs.”
The alliance’s release notes that together, Peace Arch Hospital, Langley Memorial Hospital and Delta Hospital form an interconnected network of community hospitals serving South Fraser, and that strengthening infrastructure and capacity at each will help more patients access timely medical services closer to home, while reducing pressure across the broader regional health-care system.
The alliance is urgently calling on the provincial government — regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s provincial election — to take four key actions: establish fair and equitable funding for Fraser Health, invest in acute and long-term care beds, modernize and expand community hospitals to meet demand, and integrate health care into growth planning.
According to last week’s release, current analysis shows Fraser Health receives approximately $2,621 per person in health-care funding annually, compared with $3,922 to $4,312 per person in other health authorities — a gap of around $1,300 to $1,700 per person.
It also notes Fraser Health has the lowest hospital bed capacity per capita among B.C. health authorities, at 1.06 acute care beds per 1,000 residents. The average wait time for a long-term care bed is 402 days in Fraser Health, compared with 290 days provincially.
“This leads to poor patient outcomes, inefficient use of government funds, and impacts on family earnings,” according to the alliance’s release.
“Increased investments are urgently needed to expand acute and long-term care capacity, reduce emergency department pressures, and meet the needs of one of the province’s fastest-growing and aging populations.”
For South Surrey resident Tom McIntosh, waiting and not knowing what will happen in his future are difficult.
“The hardest part is feeling stuck. Physically, I’m stuck in a bed or a wheelchair, but I’m also stuck in the system, waiting for a long-term care home and not knowing when a space will become available,” McIntosh said.
A South Surrey resident for 45-plus years, McIntosh is a temporary care patient at Peace Arch Hospital’s Weatherby Pavilion.
“I’m brought to tears over the fear that I’ll stay in this holding pattern forever and spend the last days of life waiting for care that may never come. I’d like to feel like I have a home again.”
Stories like his highlight the importance of accessible, community-based long-term care as South Fraser’s growing and aging population places increasing pressure on health-care capacity.
As part of modernizing and expanding community hospitals, the alliance is calling on the province to invest in surgical and ambulatory care, diagnostic imaging services, critical and cardiac care, and the infrastructure and equipment needed at all three member facilities to ensure more residents can receive timely diagnostic and preventative care closer to home.
The alliance also wants the province to ensure housing mandates and regional population growth are accompanied by corresponding investments in health-care infrastructure and capacity.
“As a group, our voices are stronger,” Peace Arch Hospital + Community Health Foundation CEO Stephanie Beck said in the release. “We are advocating for investments into healthcare that meet the growing demands of our region. Given the rapid pace of growth in the South Fraser area, it’s imperative that regional growth receives corresponding investment in provincial healthcare funding.”
In addition to Beck, Fassbender and Hoglund, the South Fraser Healthcare Alliance includes Delta Hospital and Community Health Foundation board chair Rick Boates and Langley Community Health and Hospital Foundation executive director Carrisa Basham.
Many of the same people and organizations took part in a large rally at Delta’s Paterson Park in March to protest the B.C. government’s decision to “re-pace” seven long-term care projects — including the 200-bed Beedie Long-Term Care Centre being constructed to replace the 49-year-old Mountain View Manor adjacent to Delta Hospital — and call for equitable health-care funding south of the Fraser River.
For more information about the South Fraser Healthcare Alliance, visit southfraserhealth.ca