FACILITIES TRAIL BEHIND MOST OF CANADA

By WALTER TICKSON

ritish Columbia’s 112 hos-
Bhitais are in what one may
call a financial straight jacket,
Almost all are short of bed space
and staff, The provincial govern-
ment through B,C,H,I,S, dictates
to each Hospital Board how much
to spend, how many beds there
shall be and what services may
be provided,

The result is that each hos-
pital has a back-log of patients
waiting for operations, Some
people must wait many months
before a bed is available, Yet
other patients, chronically ill,
for whom little if anything canbe
done, occupy acute hospital beds,

Why then does not the B,C,H,I1,S,
provide special chronic care hos-
pitals for such patients? The an-
swer is, politics, It is theSocred
government’s stubborn opposi-
tion to social responsiblity for
all types of hospital and nursing
care,

In 1957, in consultation with
the provinces, the Federal gov-
ernment passed 4 Hospital Insur-
ance and DiagnosticServices Act,
Under this act the Federal gov-
ernment pays 50% of the cost of
operation of the acute, chronic
and convalescent institutions, It
also pays $2,000 per bed for
construction of hospitals and up
to one-third of renovation costs,
But the Federal government will
only share in the cost of opera-
tion and construction if the Pro-
vincial government approves,

The Socred government in Vic-
toria argues that “the concept
of chronic care has changed” and
refuses to approve the construc-
tion and operation of chronic care
“hospitals, —

Their reasoning is thus: If we
approve the construction and op-
eration of chronic care hospitals,

“as demanded by the public, the
Federal government would pay
50% of the cost of operation, but
such extension of hospitalization
would mean that the senior goy-
ernments would eventually as-
sume responsibility for complete
hospitalization,

This would relieve the home-

owner of the hospital tax burden

and prevent the private hospitals
from gouging the aged people to
the tune of up to $700 per month,
The anti-reform Socreds in Vic-
toria reject an all-inclusive hos-
pitalization system,

The result of this policy of
rejection has put B,C, hospitals
below the national average in the
number of beds per 1,000 popu- |
lation,

According to Canada Year Book
1963-64, Page 263, the Canadian
average is 6,7 beds per 1,000
population, In Alberta there are
8.4 beds per 1,000 population, In
Saskatchewan 8.2 and in B,C,

there are only 6,5,

In one hospital district, the
Nanaimo Regional Hospital Dist-
rict, serving a population of about
44,000, there are only 160 beds
or 3.4 beds per 1,000 population,
This is below the poor and back-
ward province of Newfoundland,
where there are 4,3 beds per
1,000 population, : Soe

About seven years ago an ex-
pert was imported from the U,S,
to study the hospital needs in
B.C, His report, which appeared
in the press, showed that B,C,
needed a minimum of 7.5 beds
per 1,000 population,

He proposed that hospitals pro-
vide acute, chronic and nursing
care, The distribution of the beds
for various services may vary
among hospitals, but the total of
all services, beds shall be 7.5
beds per 1,000 population., i.e.,,
if a hospital provided four beds
for 1,000 population for acute
cases, it should also provide 3,5
beds for nursing care andetc,, or
vice versa,

The study referred to was done
many years ago and does not re-
flect the present dayneeds, Today
a survey would probably show
that B,C, needs more beds per
1,000 population than any other
province, as B,C, with its favor--
able climate attracts many people
of retirement age who normally
require more hospital care than
the young, This factor is of con-
siderable importance on Van-
couver Island in particular,

Studying the statistics con-
cerning hospital servies in B,C,,
one would conlude that the Hos-

\

ll

PTL

pital Boards would be up inarms
Over the treatment they receive
from the Provincial government,
but with few exceptions they re-
main silent,

The reason for their silence
is not be cause they are free of
crises, but because they are not
an elected body of the taxpayers,

but are appointed by government ~

and private organizations, Hos-
pital Boards are appointed as
follows: one member by the Pro-
vincial government, one member
by a city if there is one in the
Hospital District, one by the
medical profession, one by the
Hospital Auxiliary; six members
by the Hospital Society and one
by the Hospital District Trustees,
a total of 11 members on most
boards,

Hospital districts elect aseven-
member Board of Trustees but
the trustees have no say in the
administration of a hospital
whatsoever, The only authority

‘Protect people from monopoly’
urges Communist brief to MLAs

he present session of the

“B.C, Legislature has a
unique opportunity to demon-
strate that it will take action to
protect the people from a small
group of monopoly interests who
for too long have dominated our
province,” says anextensive
brief sent to all B,C, MLA’s last
week by the Provincial Executive
of the Communist Party,

The 12-page brief, signed by
Provincial Leader Nigel Morgan,
outlines an extensive Legislative
program which the people of B,C,
need,

Starting with an outline of what
increased automation will mean
to this province, the brief says
that “Mechanization and auto-
mation can give us higher living
standards , , , Itis confronting us
with a challenge and to ensure

that it will benefit the people-

the present unlimited power of
the monopolies must be brought
under democratic control,”

A large section of the brief is
devoted to the need for a new
economic policy for B,C, It says
that “the main obstacle to realiz-
ation of B,C,’s potentialities are
the monopolies who consciously
promote integration with the U.S,
This integration distorts our
economy, restricts its develop-
ment, surrenders our resources
to suit U.S, monopoly interests,”

The section contains a large
number of proposals for utiliz-
ing B,C,’s natural resources to
,develop new industries in B.C:
instead of allowing the U.S, to
grab control of these resources,

A major section is also de-
voted to the needed municipal tax
relief, The brief Says that the
crisis can only be met by both
the senior governments assum-
ing a much greater share of the
cost of services which munici-

~ palities must now provide, —

Proposals for expanding health
and welfare services inthe prov-
ince are also outlined in the brief,
including a comprehensive medi-
care scheme, support for a
national pension plan, substantial
increases in welfare allowances
and pensions, as well as expand-
ed hospital services,

The brief urges a new deal for
B,C,’s Indian people, It outlines
the guarantees which labor must
be given to protect labor’s demo-
cratic rights, Among these it
urges legislation to protect work-
ers’ jobs from automation, and
amendment of the Workmen’s
Compensation Act,

Stressing that peace is our
greatest need, the brief asks the
Legislature to speak out “in the
name of the people” for peace,
and urges the removal ofnuclear
arms from Canada,

B.C. hospital set-up needs overtiaul

are
well ns Are

“HERE'S ANOTHER CARD . . . IT’S FROM OUR ADMINISTRATOR.”

accorded the trustees, under the
terms of incorporation, is to tax
the taxpayers in the district, The
Hospital Board and the Provincial
government determine how the
money is spent and what services
shall be made available,.

The whole system of hospital

_ administration and finance is

archaic, undemocratic and un-
workable, The Hospital Boards
of Administration as presently
constituted should be abolished,
The Hospital Districts should be
empowered to elect by referen-
dum, members of the Board of
Administration on the same basis
as obtains in the school districts,
True, the hands of the school
boards are tied by the Depart-
ment of Education, but at least
the taxpayers have the right to
elect members to the board of
their own choice, The taxpayer
is now denied the right to elect
the board of administration of a
hospital district, :

BUCK

TIM

-@

a BE

Prior to 1958 there was no
hospital district organized with
powers to tax the homeowner for
hospital purposes and the Pro-
vincial government was obliged
to pick up the tab, In 1958 and
since, numerous hospital dist-
ricts were organized, which on
the surface appeared to be a
progressive move, but in fact
turned out to be just another ruse
to shift the cost of hospital con-

-struction from the Provincial

government to the shoulders of
the tax over-burdened home-
owner,

Having watched Mr, Bennett —
over the past 12 years pull trick
after trick’ out of his political
pouch, I suspect that his pro-
posed mini medicare is still an-
other ruse, The proposed scheme
will be more beneficial to the
insurance companies andthe doc-
tors than to the “lower income
people,” ;

Hear
TIM BUCK
PENDER
AUDITORIUM
Vancouver
SUNDAY
FEBRUARY 14
at 8 p.m.

“U.S. Get Out
of Vietnam’”’

QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD

Auspices Vancouver City Committee, Communist Party

February 12, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 2