Another Response

Letter Number 2 from Board Of Directors Dear Ms Thank you for your letter of Nov 2006. I apologize for the delay in my reply. I can appreciate your frustration with waiting to gain access to your surgical procedure. As you know only one hospital in BC, the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, currently provides this kind of surgery. It appears that you may have been led to believe that a decision had been made to perform surgeries at Vancouver General Hospital, but the surgeons were simply waiting to have time scheduled in the OR. This is not the case. Discussions around the possibility of performing gastric bypass surgeries at another hospital in British Columbia are currently in the preliminary stages. St Pauls Hospital ( where the program existed until a surgeon retirement in 2002 ) and VGH - as part of Vancouver Coastal Health have participated discussions with the Ministry Of Health, other regional health authorities and the Provincial Health Services Authority on the issue. Given the nature of the surgery, and the need to ensure its success by developing a supporting program and infrastructure, it is important that a thorough investigation and significant planning take place before any decisions are made. It is also important that these decisions represent the needs of all British Columbians. This is more complex than just booking time in an Operating Room - a challenge in itself given the growing demands for surgical services. VCH will need to review and discuss program requirments and costs, and the Regional Surgery Executive Council (RSEC) the group responsible for providing overall leadership and guidence to the surgical programs across the region - will determine the most appropriate location for the program. On behalf of VCH, I want to thank you for your comments and reassure you that the planning team and RSEC will make decisions that are in the best interest of residents of this province. This came from John D. Shepherd, MD,FRCPC Vice President Health Service Networks, Clinical Quality & Safety Vancouver Coastal Health WOW !!! Do any of them even read my letter. He repeated stuff that I put in my letter and wanted answers to . Still no one has answered any of my questions. Oh well I will keep you all updated Sharon