Editor,
British Columbia should acquire, lease, rent or buy four or more helicopters to be stationed strategically in the B.C. interior to service a group of rural hospitals.
At the same time, the B.C. government should bribe, beg, borrow or steal as many medical professionals as it takes to create a team of fully functioning ER medical professionals.
That's it.
Gone is the black eye the B.C. government, its Health Ministry and the local ER medical staff suffer when a rural ER is forced to close, even for just a day or two.
And, by paying the members of the newly formed ER team at least three or four times more than usual when on active duty, the members of each flying squad would earn his or her normal pay in a local hospital. This should attract medical professionals from far and wide and introduce them to the wonders of living in B.C's Interior. Shortly thereafter I suspect the the flying ER squad will need to be disbanded, and the B.C. Health Ministry will be urging rural ER medical staff to consider relocating to larger towns and cities.
Most importantly, no longer would a person with the aching chest of a failing heart, the blurring speech of a clotting stroke, the excruciating cramps of a bursting appendix, the retching pain of a broken hip, collarbone or ankle be faced by an ominous sign at the ER door of your local rural hospital saying:"We are sorry but this ER is closed. If you live long enough, five hours down the road, there is another ER. Good luck."
All of this can be avoided by creating four or more highly paid ER fully functioning medical teams ready to be flown to a closing ER at a moment's notice.
While the cost of this solution may be prohibitive, it is less than the loss of a B.C. government, the loss of disgruntled medical ER professionals who are proud members of their local communities, and the loss and suffering inflicted on unsuspecting rural British Columbians.
It is a win-win solution for all concerned.
Fred Meilink, White Rock
