The City of Prince Rupert has made public a letter from the Prince Rupert Port Authority that shares the concerns of the region's largest industrial group and employer over the current challenges facing health care in the community.
Mayor Herb Pond made note of the Port's letter to Premier David Eby and Health Minister Adrian Dix at last week's Town Hall Forum and the full document has now been posted to the Council Agenda for tonight's Council meeting.
Of note from the letter from Ken Veldman, Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability, the Port notes of the impact the ongoing situation could have on port operations
"A lack of local health and emergency services threaten the resiliency of the Prince Rupert
Gateway. We understand that many communities in our province grapple with similar
healthcare staffing challenges, but we want to reiterate that the impacts of service
disruptions at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital could have ramifications on port operations.
The Port’s ability to continue to grow, and
corresponding ability to create new employment opportunities in a wide variety of businesses, will only add to the community’s prioritization of labour force recruitment and
retention. Perceptions that basic health and emergency services cannot be fulfilled within
the community will make this task even more challenging.
PRPA and port partners continue to be vital community members that support Prince Rupert
through ongoing port expansion, economic benefits, tax base growth and community
investment. However, we all rely on adequate and reliable health services and a vibrant
community to support the workforce demands that anchor our essential trade gateway for
British Columbia and Canada."
The full letter from the PRPA can be reviewed below:
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Also part of today's Agenda package is an update from BC Emergency Health Services, which outlines the measures now in place to assist the community during this period of health care challenges.
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Reinforcements for BC EHS Service have been brought
to Prince Rupert to assist the community during the currebt
Health care challenges |
The main thrust of that correspondence notes of the additional supports brought in as the Emergency Room Closures expanded through March and now into April.
"Recent overnight emergency department closures in Prince Rupert have resulted in the temporary,
proactive addition of multiple BCEHS resources in your community to support any emergency
responses that may result in diversion to Terrace or elsewhere.
This additional support includes
increased paramedics and leadership as well as ambulance resources. I was also in your community
along with our Chief Operations Officer Jennie Helmer last week to meet our crews and ensure
they are getting the supports they need.
We are bringing this proactive approach to resource planning to Prince Rupert as well as other
communities across the province that are also experiencing similar closures and diversions, and
therefore these are dynamically deployed resources that will be relocated when the situation
stabilizes.
Our additional support to your community is a short-term measure intended to better support our
patients and our staff in Prince Rupert while the health authority works to improve its staffing."
That correspondence from the Agenda package can be reviewed below:
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| click to enlarge |
Health Care will be the topic for a Stakeholders Meeting today put together by Mayor and Council,
Those discussion will commence just as the Emergency Room at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital reopens
after it's latest Overnight closure which was
put in place last night by Northern Health, running from 11PM until 8 AM today.
More notes on what's ahead for Prince Rupert City Council tonight can be reviewed through our
Council Preview.
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