Dear editor;
Once again this government’s response to the Comox Valley is a litany of excuses for why we do not have nursing home and hospice care as is available everywhere else on Vancouver Island.
We have been waiting for close to four years and have a premier now trying to shift blame to the prior government as they delay selecting organizations to provide care which was budgeted for the beginning of 2019.
Rather ironically, the Minister of Health’s 2017/18 Accountability Letter assures us that they will act expeditiously on capital projects. How does this track with a delayed and reissued RFP that was to be decided by Aug. 31?
I am now watching a dear friend face being moved to Victoria away from his friends so he can hopefully be eligible for hospice there where if he is unable to withstand the pain from a horrible disease he can opt for MAID (medical assistance in dying) without facing a transfer as death is imminent. MAID is his right as a Canadian since June 2016 – just not if he lives in the Comox Valley, regardless of how long he has dutifully paid his taxes. There are also not words to describe what is happening to other friends who are family caregivers as they continue to jeopardize their health because no nursing home beds are available.
It is past time for government to keep its commitments to the people of the Comox Valley.
Marilyn Hartey
Courtenay
