Health Minister To Sit Down With Staff, MLA On VJH Overcrowding - Mike de Jong makes no promises after meeting with doctors

Kate Bouey 4/19/2011 105.7 SUNFM

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Doctors have urged BC's health minister to do something about chronic patient overcrowding at Vernon Jubilee Hospital. Mike de Jong met with Vernon physicians and toured the crammed floors of the old hospital Tuesday before heading over to take a look at the new patient care tower which opens this fall. Two floors sit empty in that tower and doctors want them filled with beds. De Jong says it comes down to the taxpayers' ability to pay. However he has agreed to sit down with his staff to see what can be done. ``We're gonna look at the capital component of this and, at the same time, look at the operating component of this is because you have to have both,'' stresses de Jong. He says it will take $20-million to complete the two floors and another $15-million per year to staff and operate them. When asked what priority he gave the issue, de Jong said this was one of his first outings as health minister.  ``The big thing about the new floors is there's two of them, you don't have to do them both at one time,'' says Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster. He suggests opening one floor at first, adding an extra 30 patient care beds to the hospital total. But hospital board chairman Norm Embree says everyone should wait to see how the new patient care tower ``works out.'' He says it will be better run than the old VJH.