Almost half of British Columbians would consider paying for specific medical services.
That from a Research Co. survey, which found that 46 per cent of BCers would consider paying for services that had long waiting lists. That’s up six points from a similar survey conducted in September of last year. The number jumped to 48 per cent among respondents on Vancouver Island.
President of Research Co. Mario Canseco says younger people showed more willingness than the average.
“Just over half of British Columbians aged 18-to-34 (51 per cent) would consider paying for specific medical services,” says Canseco.
While 55 per cent of British Columbians think there are some good things about the province’s health care system but some changes are needed, 3 in 10 people say that it needs to be completely rebuilt.
Respondents were asked to identify the biggest challenge to the healthcare system. These were the top five responses from Vancouver Island respondents:
- Shortage of Doctors and Nurses (54 per cent)
- Long waiting times (17 per cent)
- Bureaucracy, poor management (9 per cent)
- Inadequate resources and facilities (8 per cent)
- Little focus on preventative care (4 per cent)
The survey also asked people to consider if they would be willing to travel abroad to receive medical services that have long wait times. That number also rose five per cent from the previous study to 38 per cent of the total. Only 34 per cent of islanders said they would consider it.
Canseco says younger people were again more willing to consider it. He says, “Almost half (46 per cent) are willing to travel abroad to access them.”
According to Research Co. the survey was conducted online between November 9 and 11, consisting of 800 people with the data statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia.
