I find myself responding to the recent articles and letters in The NEWS around the Oceanside Health Centre’s primary care physician.
Firstly, thank you to Dr. Marlene van der Weyde for responding two years ago when our new facility needed a doctor.
Thank you for facilitating the growth of a sturdy, knowledgeable, capable team of professionals who can very adequately carry on the job of providing primary health care at the OHC.
Thank you for responding now when our community has a palliative care need.
Thank you for following your interests and personal needs so that you maintain your own health and well-being. In that strength you are an even better resource in our community.
You are a daring pioneer.
Secondly, regarding the finger-pointing and fear-mongering that goes on between community, GPs and Island Health about who’s not doing their job, etc., I remind us all that we are living in a time of physician shortage relative to the demand for their services. We have chosen to live in this beautiful, semi-rural community. Let’s make the most of what we do have.
Thirdly, as to “people’s lives are at stake,” as one local source said, I say your life is at stake every moment. We are all moving towards death; not a disaster, not a dread, not a surprise, but a normal stage in the process of living.
Doctors, wonderful as they are, should not be expected to be a magic wand that rescues us from the natural consequences of our living. They are helpful to guide, advise and help relieve suffering (and yes, they are the gatekeepers for prescription medicines and some services). Neither ought doctors be held as slaves, because of their skills and altruism, to our needs and demands. It helps to remember that there are lots of people with varied skills and areas of expertise who are also able to help us. But it is our individual responsibility to choose our living.
Cathy EdgeDashwood
