Chaos revisited: Health care on BC's Gulf Islands

Dr. [David Wiseman] has lived and worked on Hornby Island for 19 years. During that time there has always been another doctor with whom to share the work. In early 1998, the other doctor retired, and Dr. Wiseman has been unsuccessful in replacing him. Like other Gulf Islands, Hornby's population will not provide a competitive fee-for-service income for more than one full-time doctor. Dr. Wiseman has suggested many viable alternatives, including his willingness to be salaried, as long as there is another physician to share the work, which includes 24 hours, 365 days on-call. But, without advising Dr. Wiseman, the Ministry of Health started bringing replacement physicians to the Island at $600 a day through the British Columbia Rural Locum Program. It was ironic that they had to hire Dr. Wiseman back as a locum during the Christmas period. Of those in the Hornby Island Community Hall who clapped and cheered for Babe: Pig in the City, perhaps some could see the irony in this mythical depiction of contented rural life. For the people of Hornby Island, the reality is a 2-hour, 2-ferry journey to get to high school or fill a prescription. The ferry system shuts down after 6 pm and leaves them isolated. Unless the current health chaos is resolved, islanders are facing the prospect of 13 hours a clay with no local access to a doctor or an adequate emergency facility.