2001

Both Dr J.A. Wilson and Dr Marshall Dahl have drawn attention to the abysmal lack of medical direction in the regional hospital boards (BCMJ 2001;43(2):60 and 65). From a doctrinaire political viewpoint, there were four valid indications for changing the Board of Hospital Trustees who were previously elected by the public with a municipal and a provincial appointee as well as a hospital physician; i.e., president of the medical staff, elected by the hospital physicians.

The letter from Dr Michael Alms [BCMJ 2001;43(2):68] raised a matter that should concern all medical educators. It is even more timely now that the BCMJ recently commented on the problem and the media had a field day alarming Canadians about what was going on in their medical schools. Like Dr Alms, I too have been in the patient situation and am disgusted at the non-professional, egotistical, impersonal attitude displayed by many consultants and department heads under whom patients are admitted in teaching hospitals.

Several days after reading Dr Jeff Purkis’ excellent letter in the BCMA Journal [Please fix walk-in problem. BCMJ 2001;43(2): 71], I had a discussion with a patient during the course of a visit that I thought would be illustrative and complementary to Dr Purkis’ letter.

I am writing this in support of the position taken by Dr Bebb and his colleagues (The drug review process in BC: A critique. BCMJ 2001; 43(2):86-87) with respect to the Therapeutics Initiative (TI).

TI was propounded as an independent body free of any governmental or commercial biases. As it has evolved in recent years it has become clear that it is no longer fulfilling its mandate.

Over the years the BCMA has managed to govern itself reasonably well in spite of the size of its Board of Directors. Currently there are 40 people sitting around the table who individually represent a variety of interest groups and/or geographical regions in the province. The fact that extensive agendas are usually completed by such a large group of people—all of whom have an opinion and are not afraid to state and vigorously defend it—remains a source of wonder to me.