The Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District board isn’t happy with the Interior Health Authority’s (IHA) response to the board’s request to discuss the potential advantages of the whole CCRHD being moved under the umbrella of the Northern Health Authority (NHA).
CCRHD board chair John Massier says the board sent letters to both health authorities, and forwarded to the MLAs and the Ministry of Health, on June 19.
He explains the letter noted the board’s April 20 resolution to ask to convene a meeting to discuss the rationale for the resolution. Massier adds the board also wants to “begin the process of exploring the potential benefits of and process of realigning hospital district boundaries if that is ultimately deemed to be in the best interests of the residents of the Cariboo-Chilcotin.”
In his July 18 response letter, IHA board of directors chair Norm Embree noted health authority boundary changes are the responsibility of the Legislative Assembly.
“Potential changes as you have discussed fall outside the authority of the health authorities,” Embree wrote, adding IHA believes it is inappropriate to engage in a discussion that is inconsistent with its mandate and provincial direction.
The CCRHD board discussed Embree’s letter at its Aug. 24 meeting, and Massier says the board members were generally disappointed with the response.
He notes they got similar responses from both health authorities in that boundary changes are beyond their responsibility and is a Ministry of Health matter.
The difference with the Northern Health’s response was it values the relationship it has with the six hospital districts it has across the north, Massier says, adding NHA noted how important those relationships are for capital projects, general health care and strategic planning for the future.
“I think this was the piece that was missing in Interior Health’s letter. We didn’t get any indication from them that they wanted to sit down and dig a little deeper to find out why we would pass such a resolution.”
There was some discussion about writing a letter to the health minister to express the board’s displeasure with the services provided by IHA and asking the minister become involved in a discussion regarding health authority boundaries.
There was a motion, but it was later deferred for up to six months, pending a subsequent meeting with IHA.
Massier says the board would still like to sit down with IHA to discuss services to CCRHD communities.
“We’re trying to improve the health-care services to our communities, and if we're going to do that within the structure that exists now, we’re going to have to sit down with Interior Health and talk about why we passed that resolution and what we can do as a team to bring better health care to our residents.”
Staff has been asked to prepare a report for the Sept. 14 CCRHD board meeting, Massier says, adding he will see where it goes from there.
“I think that will give us a little more information about where we have to go from here.”
If the boundaries were moved, it would take 100 Mile House and Williams Lake out of the IHA and put them into the NHA with the rest of the Cariboo Regional District.
Massier notes there are a couple of issues that are definitely on the radar, including the beds in Fischer Place in 100 Mile House that are still closed and the master plan Cariboo Memorial Hospital improvements in Williams Lake.
Both are gathering dust, he says, adding the board would like to see things start moving along.
“Those are the two major items in the two communities that really need some action.”