The cancer care system in British Columbia is broken and new data shows it’s only getting worse.
The waitlist for cancer care has risen to such devastating highs that six months ago the NDP decided to start sending B.C. cancer patients to the United States for treatment.
This would have been simply unimaginable seven years ago. British Columbians were proud of their healthcare system, and our cancer care system was regarded as one of the best in the world. The last time B.C. sent cancer care patients to the U.S. was under an NDP government in the 1990s.
After the NDP failed to provide adequate healthcare at home, recently obtained government documents reveal they are now failing at their band-aid solution.
Despite a commitment to send over 50 patients a week to the United States, the government has only managed to send an average of 12 people a week, including just 14 from Northern Health and zero from Interior Health. This is less than a quarter of the patients the NDP promised it would help.
The NDP’s failure to provide timely, life-saving cancer care is forcing some patients to make the difficult decision and self-fund treatment outside of the country.
The dire state of cancer care is just one symptom of our crumbling healthcare system in B.C.
Just a few months ago, ER patients here in the Cariboo were shocked to show up to the ER and find burnt-out staff had put out a sign saying it was closed unless you are ‘imminently dying’. This is just one of the heart-wrenching stories that continue to arise every single day across this province.
Enough is enough, British Columbians cannot afford to wait any longer for this government to fulfill its promises on healthcare. Empty words are not good enough, people need real results.
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