October

A UBC study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry reveals the multiple health concerns faced by an esti-mated 3000 tenants in single-room occupancy (SRO) hotels in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The results of the study aim to improve the provision of health care and housing among residents of the Downtown Eastside.

A report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) says that compromised wounds like pressure ulcers and bed sores are a serious problem for the health system. According to the report, 30% of patients in continuing care in a hospital setting had compromised wounds (including surgical wounds not healing as expected) in 2011–2012, as well as 10% of long-term care residents and 7% of home care patients.

Five recipients in BC have been awarded grants totaling $1 million by the Arthritis Society, BC and Yukon Divi-sion. The grants will fund research projects benefiting patients in BC and the Yukon who are living with arthritis.

As I flip through the history, lab values, orders, and surgery notes, my stomach gives a loud growl. Great. An-other emergency note with illegible handwriting. I’ve been stuck in the chart room for nearly 5 hours—a dark, forbid-den place where no natural sunlight or food is allowed. Here, in the security-guarded basement of a pediatric hospital, I am spending a beautiful spring in Vancouver. 

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Asking physicians to work harder, work longer hours, and take on more patients is not a solution to the current issues in primary care. That’s why the General Practice Services Committee (GPSC) and its funding partners, the Ministry of Health and BCMA, are working collaboratively on comprehensive programs to address patient needs. A GP for Me is one of the programs designed to strengthen primary care through enhancing the relationship patients have with a family physician. It isn’t operating in isolation.