Security issues need to be dealt with promptly
Re: “Bag with explosive found at airport,” May 25.
As a somewhat regular passenger at YYJ, the slow response to the suspicious item in the luggage of a departing passenger doesn’t leave me with a great deal of confidence in our international airport’s ability to deal with security issues in a timely and effective manner.
While this is a rare occurrence at a comparatively small airport, I have empathy for those whose travel plans were greatly impacted, as well as the affected airlines that also incurred costs and scheduling delays.
Are passengers receiving an acceptable level of security for their airport usage fees? The longer a real incendiary device is left without being deactivated and/or disposed of, the greater likelihood it will explode at that location.
It was dumbfounding that the airport was completely out of service for seven hours and that 20 flights were cancelled while waiting for a team of “explosives experts” to arrive (apparently by ferry) from Vancouver.
This points to an astonishing deficiency of local emergency response expertise and/or outdated scanning equipment technology to deal with this type of incident.
What transpired should be an important wakeup call for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, and perhaps the tactical unit of the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team as well, which states online that it provides explosives detection and disposal services.
Perhaps airport management will advocate to CATSA and GVERT as needed for a critical review of what happened, with the aim to make whatever changes are required to deal with these emergency situations locally in future.
This is needed so that major disruptions are avoided and public safety is improved at YYJ, as well as elsewhere in the Greater Victoria in the future.
Danny Foster
Saanich
On being Canadian: Words for Victoria
Recently, the City of Victoria has been engaging the public on municipal matters through the medium of online surveys.
How effective this method is will be determined as they review and analyze the results.
However, as part of the “Inclusion and Equity” survey, they wish to determine “who is participating in this survey?” They ask questions as to age, where you live, and your ethnicity and it is the latter question which causes concern.
When asking about ethnicity, they cover the usual categories, European, Africa, Asian, Indigenous, etc., but there is no category for Canadian.
I look upon myself as being Canadian. I am certainly not within the categories given by the City of Victoria. I am culturally and spiritually attached to and of this land — Canadian and wish to be recognized as such.
Ken Johnson
Victoria
Bold thinking needed to fix health-care issues
Re: “Time now’ for increase in health transfers: Horgan,” May 28.
Premier John Horgan’s mantra on how to solve B.C.’s health-care issues — i.e. more funding from the federal government — is starting to sound like buck-passing.
No doubt that is one part of the solution to this complex issue. Surely though, there are many other initiatives that our provincial government should be putting forward without waiting for a cheque from Ottawa. Indeed, a letter in the same issue — “More family MD residency spots needed” — perfectly illustrates that.
Whatever you might think of the recently announced museum replacement project, it certainly represents big, bold thinking, action and funding at the provincial level, to address a problem most British Columbians weren’t even aware of.
Where is the same big, bold thinking, action and funding from our provincial government on health-care access — a problem so many British Columbians are only too aware of?
Rennie Heel
Saanich
Maybe Albertans know about health care
I have noticed a few letters to the editor recently where doctors who have practised in Alberta and residents who have moved to or from our neighbour province have offered comment on our current medical system plight.
From what I have learned, Albertans in general are not facing the same challenges as we are. True?
I would love to hear the opinions of those who have lived and worked within Alberta’s medical system as to what we could/should do differently here to get back on track.
No more studies, no more committees … lean over the fence and ask our neighbour’s opinion. Please.
Rob Edwards
Victoria
Medical licensing rules seem rather silly
Regarding bureaucracy limiting the supply of physicians, I agree with another commentator that the B.C. licensing rules seem silly.
Rather than asking candidates to take language tests and other irrelevant exams, a simple approach if the candidate already has board certification is to set up a proctoring system employed in many major hospitals in the U.S. For example, established surgeons review provisional hospital privileges of new surgeons.
If, for example, I were to do surgery for the first time in B.C., it would be with one to two highly qualified surgeons proctoring my skills. After six months, if they approved me, the government would give me licensing, and hospitals would grant me privileges.
Otherwise, even if I were younger, I would not want to spend the time to qualify. I might move to the United States to practise and make more money where qualification processes are less vigorous once there is board certification.
The government has the gall to overrule the efficacy of board certification in qualifying individuals for licensing. This proctoring approach would work as well, presumably for qualifying family physicians.
Fred Wurlitzer, MD, FACS, MBA, ABS
Victoria
Urgent care clinic catchment areas
Following my doctor’s retirement in 2020, I started searching for another GP and was fortunate to receive excellent care from the North Quadra Urgent and Primary Care Centre.
However, living near Braefoot Park in Saanich, I’m an estimated 200 metres outside of the clinic’s three-kilometre circular catchment area radius and, hence, cannot be attached to a physician at the clinic.
Encouraged by the announcement of the Luther Court Community Health Centre at Cedar Hill Road and Cedar Hill Cross Road about one kilometre from my home, I assumed I should be well within the new clinic’s catchment area.
However, the Luther Court Community Health Centre catchment boundary seems illogically to meander along roads through Saanich and I find I’m still 200 metres outside of their catchment area.
Very frustrating! Who determines the criteria of the catchment area for attachment to an urgent care clinic’s physician?
Ray Lett
Saanich
Move hospitalists to urgent care centres
With new urgent care facilities unstaffed due to a dire shortage of family physicians, and newly graduated and foreign trained doctors having difficulty finding local residency placements in B.C., a solution might be realized by providing more hospital spaces for residents to replace hospitalists — most who are trained and experienced family physicians — to urgent care facilities, where their skills are so acutely needed.
During several hospital stays, it was my experience that the hospitalist’s visits were not really helpful — and generally unnecessary for recovery.
Hospitalists’ duties could be covered by an expanded residency staff, and allow for more trained doctors to complete their B.C. qualifications.
Providing more residency spaces and using hospitalists to staff urgent care facilities could be a more efficient and beneficial placement for these trained physicians, while adding much needed and accessible health care to the region.
JA Sparks
Victoria
If in doubt, count the legs
In his excellent article on the spread of ticks (“Will B.C. be next?” Islander, May 29), Stefan Labbe refers to them as insects.
In fact, ticks are not insects, but arthropods. Along with other anatomical differences, on maturity, insects will have six legs, but ticks and other arthropods such as spiders, scorpions and mites will have eight legs.
Larry Licht
Victoria
Thanks to LifeLabs for helping with a test
There was a time when parents and grandparents spoke of heroes in terms of men and women that went into battle at all odds, rushed into burning buildings, struggled to take a beach-head only armed with a rifle, and so on.
Today’s heroes are the many among us, rarely acknowledged, not often shoulder-tapped for their extraordinary efforts.
This week I had some routine blood work scheduled (several months ago) via LifeLabs — which had to close its clinic for the day because of a lack of staff, staff who are pushed to the edge, a team that give 100 per cent every day.
Yesterday I got an email informing me that my appointment was cancelled and that I should schedule a new appointment. The only appointments available were a month into the future. Before I even had the opportunity to fret about this First World inconvenience, my phone rang from a rep at LifeLabs, fitting me in later on in the day at another clinic.
Wow. That is an example of exemplary customer service during a time in which our health services are under an immense burden. In as much as I realize that we are in a very difficult time, this was an incredible example of teamwork from a group of heroes who are simply not congratulated often enough.
For all that you do, thank you. Bravo.
Colin Newell
Victoria
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