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-

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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