The BC Cancer Clinic here in Kelowna has apparently hit the wall.
A leaked memo suggests medical staff shortages have reduced manpower to about 55 percent of what is intended.
As reported in local media, the memo goes on to say treatment programs may be delayed and waitlists for seeing newly referred cancer patients have reached record lengths.
Kelowna Mission Liberal MLA Renee Merrifield had this to say in reaction.
"I've been sounding the alarm bill for the last two years, knowing that BC Cancer doesn't have enough oncologists, radiologists nore enough nurses and certainly doesn't have enough funds put into capital spending. I've been asking the Minister for the last two years for the ten year cancer plan he keeps promising, but we just haven't seen it yet."
Merrifield says in addition to the staffing issues, the BC Cancer Clinic in Kelowna needs to be renovated and updated.
According to her, it hasn't been touched since the 1990s.
"We are desperately in need of a renovation to our cancer clinic that really hasn't been touched since the 90s. We are desperately in need of a new cancer clinic in Kamloops that has been promised by the NDP Government since John Horgan was first running. And, we haven't seen any of these capital investments in the Interior."
Merrifield adds;
"We know that outcomes are directly related to early intervention. And, we know the faster that people are diagnosed, the faster they get into treatement, the better the outcomes they're going to have. Right now, that's threatened."
Merrifield is again calling on the NDP Government to act.