12 - Friday, March 12, 1999 - North Shore News ADVERTISEMENT North Shore Medical Offices and Walk-In Clinics Forced to Close March 15 through 19, 1999 Why is your care being rationed? Each year the BC government makes a decision about how much money to put into Medicare. That is the money that pays for all patient services, from vis- its to your family doctor to major surgery. Last year, the NDP government made a mistake in calculating how much need there would be for Medicare. The government made this mistake despite strong warnings from doctors that the grow- ing needs of patients weren't going to be met by this budget. : The government’s budget fell short by 33 days. This under-funding of Medicare forces a rationing of ser- vices to patients on the North Shore and throughout BC. Unlike the budget for the construction of the fast ferries, medicare cannot have an overrun. This rationing of services means doctors have a bad choice: Stay open on those 33 days and not get paid, or close their offices and obey the government's rationing. What doctors on the North Shore and throughout BC are doing is a combination of both. The “RADs” that you hear about are government- imposed “Rationed Access Days”. These “Kationed Access Days” are a horrible inconvenience for patients and something doctors would genuinely pre- fer not to be forced to do. Is This Ai About More Money For Doctors? No. This money set aside for doctors’ incomes is just. 19% of the entire BC government health care budget. The rest of the health budget goes to pay for running hospitals and. regional programs. How much your doctor gets paid for each procedure or service is set by a contract and can’t be changed. There is no fee increase for doctors this year no matter what hap- pens with medicare spending. Doctors are not after a fee increase — they are simply refusing to work for free when the government's rationed Medicare funds run out. Despite Rationing Closures, Urgent Care Is Still Available For urgent care only, & call to your family dector’s office phone number will give you instructions on how to contact an on-call physician. He or she will arrange to see you if urgent care is needed. Emergency physicians and other doctors, both spe- cialists and general practitioners wiil staff the emer- gency ward at Lions Gate Hospital as usual. Free Health Screening Clinic at Lions Gate Hospital During this rationing week, North Shore physicians still want to support their patients. With the assistance of the North Shore Health Region and Lions Gate Hospital, North Shore doctors will donate their services for free, at a special Health Screening Clinic, Medical Doy Center, Lions Gate Hospital Tuesday, March 16 - 4:00 to 8:00 pm Come and meet family physicians and specialists who will be staffing four free screening clinics, offering counseling, information and testing, including: Blood Sugar testing and screening for diabetes -- everyone welcome Hypertension (high blood pressure) screening — everyone welcome Prostate Cancer Blood Testing (PSA) — only for men aged 50 through 70, without known prostate cancer. Depression Screening ~ everyone welcome Osteoporasis Screening — Heel ultrasound bone density screening, male and female welcome (numbers limited) if indicated, you will be directed to your family doctor for follow up.