East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Doug Clovechok/ Facebook

While Thompson-Okanagan residents have felt the pinch of an overstretched health-care system, a BC MLA says it's even more difficult in rural areas farther outside Kelowna and Kamloops.

East Kootenay residents, for example, don’t have access to radiation therapy, so those fighting some forms of cancer are forced to make the drive, sometimes in winter conditions over mountain passes, to Kelowna General Hospital or further to locations in Surrey.

Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Doug Clovechok said he finds this unacceptable. He’s been working with East Kootenay MLA Tom Shypitka to get medical services improved for those living in rural areas.  

“Kelowna General is already overwhelmed and our patients are ending up in the hallways,” he said. “We have seniors travelling over Rogers Pass for a 20-minute meeting with an oncologist. Some patients say 'screw it, I’m not doing this and end up not getting treated.'”

A new tower is being planned for the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook. Clovechok has been lobbying the province for a radiation unit in the new tower, alongside hospital district board chair David Wilkes and Kootenay East MLA Tom Shypitka, but they haven’t made any progress.

“We want radiation treatment in Cranbrook, we have a lot of people here and a growing population but we’re told it might be on the radar but it’s not big enough to be a priority,” Clovechok said. “Kelowna and Vancouver are overloaded with patients needing radiation who then must go to Washington for services.”

He said he found a corporate donor and offered the Interior Health Authority $100,000 for planning a radiation unit but “they take orders from the province.” He had a meeting with Adrian Dix earlier this year and is hoping to arrange a meeting with the premier to lobby for the radiation unit.

Clovechok said East Kootenay residents travelling to Kelowna for medical care are not being reimbursed for their travelling expenses while the provincial government is paying expenses for those patients in the lower mainland travelling to Bellingham, Washington for medical care.

“They (rural patients) are being sent to Kelowna and Surrey for treatment with no expenses paid while those in the lower mainland are covered. In eastern BC it’s almost as if we’re second cousins accessing health care.”

The case has similarities to the one in Kamloops where the Thompson Nicola Regional District has been lobbying for a cancer care clinic in Royal Inland Hospital. Currently patients in Kamloops have to travel to Kelowna for radiation therapy. 

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Clovechok is trying to arrange a meeting with the health minister in Alberta to set up a system where patients can access cancer care across the border to alleviate some of the issues. 

“Our population in the Columbia Valley expands by thousands of Albertans between May and October with visitors and second-home owners," the MLA said. "They are neighbours and clients, they use our health care services, we don’t turn them away. Alberta is willing to take our patients but our minister doesn’t want to negotiate with them.”

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An email to iNFOnews.ca from the Ministry of Health issued Sept. 27 said every year roughly 230 East Kootenay residents get radiation therapy at BC Cancer-Kelowna but radiation therapy isn’t available in every community because of complex requirements that includes the use of a linear accelerator and specialized staff.

To ease the necessary travelling the Ministry of Health uses virtual health visits when possible and holds radiation oncologist consultations and follow-up clinics in Cranbrook every month. Sometimes special arrangements are made to coordinate in-person appointments for patients on the day of their radiation therapy to reduce to the number of trips the patient has to make.

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“The province recently announced that Angel Flight East Kootenay will receive $300,000 in provincial funding, through the Ministry of Health, to support people in the East Kootenays with continued access to health-care services in Kelowna through cost-free travel,” the email reads.

Angel flights is a charitable organization providing free flights to East Kootenay residents to get to non-medical services and treatment centres in Kelowna.

People travelling for medical service might be eligible for the Ministry of Health’s Travel Assistant Program but must meet certain criteria, however the program doesn’t provide direct financial assistance to patients for travel costs or make travel arrangements for them. Meals, accommodation, mileage, fuel and local transportation expenses are not included.

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Other travel supports can be found through the Canadian Cancer Society and Hope Air or patients can self-register for Wheels of Hope that connects people needing transportation for cancer treatments with volunteer drivers.

“Additional supports will also soon be available as part of the government’s B.C.’s 10-year cancer action plan, which prioritizes improved access to cancer care for all and includes increased funding to support expenses related to travelling for cancer care,” the ministry said.

According to the ministry, BC Cancer did look into options for BC patients to access care in Alberta, but “other provinces are dealing with their own capacity needs or are already assisting other provinces.” The BC and Alberta Health Ministries are communicating in regards to the needs of those living along the eastern BC border.

“The best option for B.C. patients is to maximize in-B.C. options and out-of-country radiation therapy services.”

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In 2021/22, there were 112% more patients from Alberta treated in BC compared to the other way around.

BC Ministry of Health did not provide specific comment on why a radiation unit will not be going into the new tower at the East Kootenay Regional Hospital. 

The cracks in the healthcare system appear to be showing in other ways around the province with regular emergency room shutdowns due to lack of staffing or lack of physicians. The MLA cited emergency transportation issues and burnout in hospitals in Revelstoke, Golden and Invermere.

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Just this month the South Okanagan General Hospital emergency department was closed anywhere from 12 to 14 hours on Sept. 9, 10, 11. 13, 14 and the Nicola Valley Hospital emergency services were unavailable for nine hours on Sept. 7 and 11 hours on Sept. 9.

“The health care system in this province is in crisis and everyone knows that except the minister," Clovechok said. "If the government is not going to solve it we’re going to. The most important thing is patient care.”

— This article was corrected at 12:05 p.m. Oct. 4 to clarify the MLA is lobbying for a radiation unit and not a radiology department. 

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