Falkland residents are demanding that the provincial government make health care a priority. About 150 people attended a rally at the stampede grounds Wednesday demanding that two shelled-in floors be completed at Vernon Jubilee Hospital to address overcrowding and cancelled surgeries. “We also want to see action on staffing because you can’t have one without the other,” said Kelli Rose, one of the event organizers. “It’s about the health and safety of every resident of the North Okanagan.” VJH is funded for 148 acute care beds but on average, there are 165 patients daily. Those at the rally want their MLA, George Abbott, to get directly involved. “It should be fairly clear that people on this end of his constituency are 100 per cent behind health care workers and our hospital,” said Rose. Rene Talbot, Falkland director for the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, isn’t impressed with Abbott’s actions to date. “So far, Mr. Abbott is saying he’s not in support of it (two floors),” said Talbot. “The government spends a lot of money in Victoria doing different things but they’re not putting anything into health care.” There were 350 signatures on a petition as of Tuesday, but that surged during the rally. “We filled up almost five sheets of the petition. That’s 75 names that had never signed before,” said Rose. “People are really taking this issue seriously. People really care about health care.” Among the groups that took part in the rally were the Falkland Community Association, the Falkland First Responders, Falkland Highway Rescue, the fire department, the Sunday Morners, the seniors association and the Falkland Historical Society. A Purple Ribbon flag was raised and it could be passed on to other communities who show their support for VJH. “Hopefully other communities will do the same thing and put pressure on Victoria,” said Talbot. B.C. Nurses Union representatives weren’t surprised with the turnout in Falkland. “We’ve heard from them that they’ve had enough with the situation at VJH,” said Christine Sorensen, regional chairperson. “As small as Falkland is, they have a huge heart and I would hope the government will listen to the community.”
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MLA George Abbott needs to take some time during the remaining days of summer and go for a drive to Falkland. It would be an ideal opportunity to meet with his constituents and discuss issues of concern to them, and specifically Vernon Jubilee Hospital. Abbott recently indicated he’s not convinced there’s a need to complete the two shelled-in floors at VJH for acute care beds, and that the opening of the new patient care tower may create sufficient efficiencies to resolve overcrowding and cancelled surgeries. Abbott’s view of things is completely contradictory to the message coming from physicians, nurses, civic leaders and even his own colleague, Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster. But more importantly, Abbott is out of step with his own constituents. More than 400 Falkland residents have signed a petition demanding that the two shelled-in floors be completed, and on Wednesday, there was a rally at the stampede grounds urging the government to take immediate action at VJH. The residents of Falkland rely on VJH, as do Armstrong, Enderby and the Shuswap — also represented by Abbott. They understand that conditions at VJH are challenging for physicians, staff and patients and even once the new tower opens in September, there is the very real prospect that patients will still be placed in hallways and surgeries will be scrapped because there aren’t a sufficient number of beds. It is time for Abbott, who is a former health minister, to discuss the situation openly with his constituents and represent their interests.
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