INDIAN SPOKESMAN BUREAU
GRAVITY OF THE PROBLEM AND ITS FALLOUTS
The problem of healthcare crisis in British Columbia, understood to have been developed during the past three decades, as no proper measures had been taken by the respective governments to put in place the requisite infrastructure, and arrange the trained Medical and Paramedical staff proportionate to the growing scale of population. As a consequence, an immense gap has been developed between the demand and the supply.
However, no authentic data is available, but media reports suggest that thousands of people across British Columbia are without the family doctor, and therefore in case of some health emergency situation they do not know where to go and what to do? The Medical and Paramedical staff deputed in the hospitals is overloaded with work. The situation is so grim that even the people suffering from the serious fatal diseases such as Cancer are told to wait for a couple of weeks to start their treatment even after the disease is confirmed following the diagnostic tests.
The problem of the prevailing Healthcare Crisis has already tarnished the reputation of the British Columbia state. The rampant Healthcare Crisis may be counted among the primary factors to discourage the immigrants coming to Canada to settle in British Columbia as their first choice irrespective of its best weather, mesmerizing natural beauties, and bountiful natural resources. A record number of more than 28,000 people have migrated from British Columbia to the neighbouring Alberta state in 2022 for primarily Health, and Housing reasons.
What is more alarming is that the Healthcare Crisis appears to be remaining un-tackled within the practiced policy mechanism framework of the current regime. Therefore, it remains to be a foregone conclusion that the migration of people from British Columbia to other provinces, or countries will remain unabated till the crisis of Health Cure, and others currently faced by the British Columbians, are effectively tackled without wasting any more time.
WHY TACKLING THE STAFF SHORTAGE SHOULD BE PRIORITISED?
An ideal Healthcare system involves an apt number of hospitals, medical equipment, and the availability of trained Medical and Paramedical staff proportionate to the catering population. But, raising more hospitals and equipment needed plenty of resources and adequate time. Therefore, the government needs a two-pronged policy – one, a long term plan to raise more hospitals, and add and upgrade medical equipment, and two, arrange trained Medical and Paramedical staff in a shortest possible time. If the problem of shortage of Medical and Paramedical staff is tackled and the available hospitals and diagnostic labs are put to use day and night (24 by 7), then the 80 per cent problem of the Healthcare Crisis will stand resolved and it will bring big relief to our community.
CURRENT POLICY OF HIRING THE TRAINED STAFF
Undoubtedly, British Columbia and Canada as a whole do not produce the requisite number of doctors, and paramedical practitioners who could provide an infallible healthcare cover to our community. Thus, British Columbia depends largely on other countries to hire trained doctors and paramedical staff who could serve our people. However, this process of prioritising medical profession-based immigration has not yielded the desired results. The flaws in this process of hiring the trained medical and paramedical staff from countries abroad must be rectified and a new policy should be put in place so that the trained medical and paramedical staff with best brains worldwide should be hired in a speedy manner and brought into British Columbia by demolishing the policy hindrances.
VISION FOR HIRING THE TRAINED STAFF
On the basis of existing visa policy many trained Medical, Paramedical and nursing professionals immigrate to Canada, but they find the mandatory qualifying tests designed for job entry into medical streams, especially for externally educated and trained people, too hard and thus end up adopting other professions. The Canadian Medical practices standards and professional ethics cannot be and should not be compromised. So, this basic principle applies to hiring medical and paramedical staff from other resource countries. But at the same time, it should be underlined that we have to utilise the acumen and expertise of the externally educated and trained medical-professionals to serve our community rather than adjudging their IELTS band scores, and intellectualism.
PROPOSED CRITERIA FOR HIRING TRAINED STAFF FROM ABROAD
Crucial elements for the criteria:
A. Human resourceful countries from where the trained Medical, Paramedical, and Nursing professionals can easily be hired
B. Quality of education and basic training of medico professionals in the source country
C. Need and willingness of medico professionals to come to BC to serve and settle
D. Professional acumen acquired by the medico professionals during the course of study, training, and experience if any
E. Level of English language understanding and communicating
F. Credentials and track record of medico professionals
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CRITERIA FOR HIRING MEDICAL-PROFESSIONALS
Let us hypothetically presume that British Columbia needs 200 doctors, 200 Paramedical professionals and 300 Nurses. How this goal of hiring the aforementioned staff can be instantly achieved? Here is a suggestive model:
A. The BC government issues an expression of interest through website/media press releases to hire these professionals from the reputed Universities/institutions from other countries, and asks the aspirants to apply within one month. The expression of interest which should be adequately advertised, especially in the human resourceful countries like India, should carry the vital details of what the BC government is offering to the professionals.
B. The applications should be sorted out within two weeks, and the interview boards already constituted for the purpose, hold virtual extensive interviews of the shortlisted candidates by grilling them thoroughly to ascertain their professional knowledge, acumen and English language levels
C. The educational qualifications degrees and experiences of the candidates selected through the process of interviews, should then be independently cross-checked by writing to their alma maters and employers
D. On verifying that everything is perfectly fine then employment letters should be offered to the selected candidates and their immigration should be prioritised, as each such case should be cleared by the Canadian Immigration for visa in less than one month’s time
E. All these selected candidates should be given Advanced Work Visa on the basis of which they could become eligible to apply for Canadian PR for themselves and their families, within six months of job experience in BC and their PR cases should also be fast-tracked
F. On their arrival to BC, Canada each one of them should be put to mandatory one-month paid course wherein they are apprised about Canadian Medical professional standard practices and ethics, besides giving them the necessary basic information about general rules and regulations of Canada
G. All these professionals are made to sign a mandatory statement that they should have to stay in BC for at least 10 years after attaining the PR
H. Thereafter each one of these professionals are put to two-years-long professional training under senior BC doctors/professional heads on a specific annual salary package for example a doctor under training may be provided $80,000/ per annum wages during the two years training. During this training period the doctors should be given an opportunity to do all those tasks which a medico professional is supposed to do, but their work should be supervised by the senior BC doctors
I. On successful completion of their two years training, if it is mired by no controversies or failure of medical standard practices and professional ethics, then these professionals should be inducted as doctors and given full salary scale at par with other BC doctors
J. Those who fail to successfully complete their professional training should be given an opportunity to either upgrade their skills or adjust somewhere in any other profession
K. Likewise, paramedics and Nurses hired through the above discussed process should also be put to two-year mandatory paid training on a specific annual salary package so that they could become trained medico-professionals of standards of BC paramedics and nurses
CONCLUSION
The above discussed strategy, if implemented in its true spirit, will help BC to overcome the medico staff shortage crisis within a time span of around six months. This strategy, if proven to be successful, will also become a benchmark to tackle the problem of staff shortage in medical, or any other profession not only in British Columbia, but in the whole of Canada.