Interior Health gave Williams Lake City Council a lengthy quarterly report highlighting current and projected stats.
One of the primary focuses last night (February 27) was staff retention and recruitment moving forward in 2024, as Interior Health saw the staff vacancy rate going from 21 per cent in the third quarter in 2023 to 15.3 per cent currently, with more staff projected to come to the City.
Mayor Rathor says he’s happy with the progress being made between the City and IH.
“16 months before, the line of communication was not there, I’m so happy that the line of communication is there.” says Rathor.
“Are we where we were 16 months before? No, we are way ahead. Have we reached where we want to be? No, we have a long way to go, so I look forward to working with IHA.”
During the meeting, Councillor Sheila Boehm spoke on the frustration surrounding the discrepancy in rural BC, when comparing to other municipalities like Kelowna or Kamloops.
Noting she doubts there’s a standard for care when it comes to length of time for tests in rural BC.
During the presentation, Interior Health did give a small list of how the City can help to attract and retain staff, which include housing, childcare, and partnering on recruitment efforts.
Rathor reassured IH that efforts are still being made to improve the addressed needs.
He says that the City’s approach to bring in more healthcare professionals won’t necessarily change, but hopes council and the community will understand that all parties involved are trying their best to make improvements.
The hope is that more healthcare professionals want to come to the new state of the art facility currently under development.
Interior Health will be providing council with three future updates this year.
The full presentation from Interior Health can be found on the City’s website here.