Surgery backlog due to lack of beds, staff
Prince George Citizen,  June 9, 2006 
Re: Public dollars expanding private health care (Paul Willcocks column, June 2).

Mr. Willcocks' column fails to mention that the reason additional major surgeries are not done in public hospitals is the lack of beds and the appropriate staff needed to care for these patients.

Prince George Regional Hospital has increased the number of day surgeries significantly over the past few years.

Usually when surgeries are cancelled it is major and/or same-day admission surgeries.
Again, this is because there isn't a bed for a patient or enough staff to care for the patient.

If a patient has surgery at a private surgery clinic and experiences complications that require hospital care, then the patient would be admitted to a public hospital bed. This then increases the wait for other patients on the list.

There are only so many registered nurses and physicians in the health system.
If surgeries are contracted out to private surgery clinics, then there may not be enough staff to keep the public system operating, so again, that increases the wait for other patients on the list.

It has never been proven that private surgery clinics, or private health care, is more efficient in time or monies.

Canadians need to value the public health-care system we have and work to improve it.

Maxine Armstrong,
B.C. Nurses Union regional chair,  Prince George