National

Health complaints top B.C. advocate's list

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Oct, 2022 01:35 PM

VICTORIA - Complaints about British Columbia's health-care system to the provincial ombudsperson have reached a 10-year high.

Jay Chalke's annual report for 2021-2022 says the office received almost 1,300 complaints or inquiries focused on programs and services provided by the Ministry of Health.

The figure is more than 15 per cent of all 8,215 complaints lodged with the office in that period.

Chalke says in a news release that health care was top of mind for those who reached out to his office, with complaints ranging from visitor restrictions for long-term care to surgery delays, and COVID-19 measures to quality of care.

It says the Ministry of Health, the Insurance Corporation of B.C. and the Ministry of Children and Family Development were the top three most complained about public bodies.

Among the problems Chalke's office says it solved was that of a lottery winner whose $150,000 cheque was withheld because the B.C. Lottery Corp. tried to insist on signed waivers from friends who were with the woman when she bought the ticket.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Surrey RCMP locate a stolen motorcycle and illicit drugs, suspect in custody

Police located just under 600 grams of suspected methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl in a satchel believed to have been discarded by the suspect while he fled from police. Through additional investigative steps, it was determined that the motorcycle was stolen on September 20, 2022 while being test driven by a potential buyer.

Surrey RCMP locate a stolen motorcycle and illicit drugs, suspect in custody

Workers, employers want feds to pay off EI debt

The program, which is financed entirely through premiums paid by workers and employers, accumulated $25.9 billion of debt by the end of 2021, according to the Office of the Chief Actuary. The rise in debt comes after a staggering number of Canadians were unemployed during the pandemic and eligibility rules for the program were relaxed to ease access to jobless benefits.

Workers, employers want feds to pay off EI debt

How the B.C. drought benefits some farmers

British Columbia is enduring a record-breaking dry spell, but farmer Amir Mann says the drought is far preferable to other recent weather extremes. Mann and others involved in agriculture say the downside of the drought, which has required some crops to be irrigated, is offset by benefits such as a longer harvesting period and little rot.

How the B.C. drought benefits some farmers

Wildfire flares on Vancouver's North Shore

West Vancouver Fire Rescue duty chief Matt Furlot says crews responded at around 7 a.m. He said they were trying to pinpoint the exact location of the fire and the best way to access to the flames.

Wildfire flares on Vancouver's North Shore

VPD arrests suspect in two sexual assaults

At 7:30 p.m. on July 6, a 24-year-old woman reported she had been sexually assaulted while on the escalator at the Granville SkyTrain Station by a suspect who ran away. The investigation was completed by Metro Vancouver Transit Police. A second incident occurred the following day on West Broadway at Ash Street. Just before 2 p.m. a 38-year-old woman was sexually assaulted.

VPD arrests suspect in two sexual assaults

93 year old man knocked to the ground and suffers broken hip in stranger attack

The victim – a neighbourhood resident for 30 years – was walking to a bakery near Main Street and East Pender when he was pushed over by a stranger around 3:15 Tuesday afternoon. Several witnesses stopped to help the senior, who was taken to hospital.