More than 400 Burns Lake residents crowded into a meeting Wednesday to express concerns about physician stability, a new hospital without a functional operating room, maternity services, recruitment and more.
It was their opportunity to lay it all out to Northern Health (NH) officials, said Paula Van Tine, a member of the Lakes District Health Advisory Committee which hosted the meeting.
Van Tine said the community wants better communications with NH and Burns Lake Hospital administration, and the facility's services needs to expand.
"There was an absolute consensus that we must have an operating room in the new hospital," said Van Tine.
She said a 1,900-signature petition requesting an operating room was handed to Lakes District Liberal MLA John Rustad for presentation to provincial ministers like finance and health.
Van Tine said an official of Hampton Affiliates sawmills said too many work hours are being lost among employees who have to go out of town for health services.
"He also said the company has a hard time recruiting into the community because of the health services," she said.
McMillan said the main concern of the majority at the meeting was about physician coverage.
He said a major concern "that needs to be addressed now" is maternity services.
"Physicians have to refer expectant mothers out of the community, so we need to deal with that even if it means help by midwives," he said.
"We reiterated that we are committed to providing quality health care in Burns Lake, and we are working with the physicians to come up with both a short-term and long-term plan to provide stability in physician coverage."
He said the new hospital is still NH's top capital priority, and it will be built to offer an operating room in the future, but not when it opens.
"We just don't have enough specialized surgeons, anesthetists and general practitioners with emergency specialization to staff it," McMillan said.
"We're a long way from that number needed, but it certainly makes sense to build it into the hospital."
McMillan is more hopeful now that three of the four physicians who have submitted resignations, effective April 29, will stay with greater support by NH to stabilize and sustain the doctor's practices.
Van Tine said Skeena-Bulkley NDP MP Nathan Cullen drew applause when he said there seems to be an attitude that people in remote areas don't deserve good health care, but when it comes to the taxes and resources provided by the same people, the government welcomes it.
"The people do have some ideas on how to help resolve the physician problems such as making the hospital a training area for UNBC's Northern Medical Program students.
"If we could get five or six of those students and they took training here, a number of them may decide to stay."
