The death of a beloved Langley emergency physician is sending shockwaves through B.C.’s medical community and prompting the Doctors of BC to call for a review into the circumstances around her passing.
Sources tell CTV News she died a few days after working several shifts at Langley Memorial Hospital last month despite being unwell herself.
“Patients are waiting far too long, and it is causing significant moral distress and overwork for our emergency room physicians,” confirmed Dr. Charlene Lui. , the president of Doctors of BC.
“In this case, this physician was dealing with her own health-care crisis and still felt compelled to work in her emergency room, to continue caring for patients even when it was not the best for her own health.”
When asked if they want a Fraser Health review into the doctor’s death to see whether workplace demands were related, Lui says the organization is asking for that as well as a comprehensive review of emergency departments and hospitals throughout the province.
Mounting pressure on a fragile workforce
For years, emergency room doctors and hospitalists have been telling CTV News they’ve felt pressured, guilt-tripped, and are often subjected to persistent requests to work extra shifts to care for patients and avoid ER closures, which have become commonplace in smaller communities but now happen in the Lower Mainland as well.
Some doctors are opting to return to their roots in family medicine, others are scaling back the hours they’re willing to work, while some walk away from the profession altogether.
Lui says those still practicing medicine feel a deep obligation to their communities and their patients and it’s not uncommon for physicians of all stripes to work despite being sick themselves.
“That occurs in the emergency room, in the hospital, then in community physician offices as well,” she said. “Often we end up putting our own selves at risk for the good of the community.”
Fraser Health responds
Langley Memorial Hospital is one of the most troubled in the Lower Mainland, with the “near catastrophic” conditions there first brought to light nearly two years ago.
The site’s medical director, Dr. Mitra Maharaj, acknowledges the emergency department faces a significant staffing crunch, but also pointed out that since they opened their new ER in 2021, their patient volume has grown 50 per cent.
“It’s challenging, that’s absolutely the case,” he said.
When CTV News asked whether staff are being pushed too far, Maharaj said, “Everyone here works to their capacity, and sometimes they push themselves, to be honest – and I think that speaks to the commitment that they feel to the site and to the people of this community.”
Fraser Health wouldn’t say whether they’ll conduct a review into the circumstances around the physician’s death.
“We are devastated by the recent passing of one of our dedicated emergency department physicians at Langley Memorial Hospital, and we extend our deepest condolences to their family, loved ones and colleagues,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “This is a profound loss for our site and for our entire health care community.”
