Two University of British Columbia medical students are speaking out about their concerns for their future, their fellow community members, and potential patients.
UBC medical students Sandra Smiley and Christina Schwarz talked to Global News about the current state of B.C.’s health-care system — particularly concerning emergency health departments.
“The situation is deteriorating instead of improving in emergency departments as we speak,” Sandra Smiley said.
“The current system is not acceptable to patients or staff,” Schwarz said. “As we progress in our studies, it will become increasingly difficult until we are the physicians facing the challenging decisions due to our system failing patients.”
According to the students, the failure is due to overcrowding, understaffing, and violence in B.C. emergency departments.
The pair is part of the UBC medicine PAC whose recent paper, Enough Waiting: A Call to Resuscitate BC Emergency Departments, indicates that the median time that in-patients spend in emergency departments is approximately 17.5 hours.
“I’ve witnessed people waiting in the emergency department for hours, and sometimes days,” Smiley said.
“When people have to endure these wait times, they lose trust in the system,” Schwarz added.
The students met with the province earlier this month and presented a list of solutions including increased capacity for primary care, and improved long-term care and supportive housing options to reduce hospital stays.
“I think they’ve got great suggestions and we will consider anything they propose as they are observing the front line of the health-care system with fresh eyes,” B.C. Premier David Eby said.
The future doctors said they are hopeful for change and emphasized that the current direction of the system is not sustainable.
“Staff are leaving in large numbers due to burnout and the moral distress of knowing the right decision but being unable to act on it,” Smiley said.
