The man who has helped fund the establishment of the cardiac clinic at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops is no longer interested in partying on behalf of the BC government this year.
Interior Health, already facing the fallout from its entire Obstetrician/Gynecological team walking away from surgeries Royal Inland Hospital in a protest over workloads and recruitment, the founder of the ICCHA-WISH Fund is launching a protest of his own.
Al Patel has confirmed he will not be going forward with his annual fundraising Red Carpet Gala this year.
November 7th was to have marked the 19th year the Gala would be held in Kamloops — an opportunity for the Fund to honor its large doners while also using the event to try to cajole more money out of those in attendance.
Patel says he’s cancelling the annual event as a way to show his frustration with provincial health authorities, who he says aren’t moving quickly enough to restore the Coronary Care Unit at Royal Inland Hospital.
“Cardiac Services BC said you cannot have anything in advance until you have the cardiac care unit running,” Patel told Radio NL in conversation on the Thursday when he revealed his plans to scuttle the Gala. “But that’s the thing. They shut it down, and they expect us to expand to the Cath Lab. It can’t happen.”
Patel says he’s also been informed that any development of a stand-alone Cath Lab — or a second he says is already needed at RIH — would not happen until at least 2040.
Patel and his ICCHA-WISH Fund had already been able to generate $1.1 million in donations to help finance equipment needed for the Cath Lab in Kamloops — home to tools used by doctors to detect the level of damage to someone’s heart muscle following a heart attack, as well as any signals that further heart disruptions are possible.
ICCHA-WISH Fund founder Al Patel preparing to cut ribbon on Coronary Care Unit at Royal Inland Hospital/via Facebook
“If we keep on funding the shortfalls of the government, what will the government do?” Asked a frustrated Patel. “They have failed big time.”
Patel launched his fundraising efforts nearly two decades ago to convince health officials that the broader Kamloops community would support the establishment of a stand-alone Cardiac Care unit and help pay for it.
His efforts paid off, as the Centre did eventually open — only to be shut down through the pandemic due to a lack of staff, which continues to keep it shuttered to this day.
Patel is now openly suggesting a level of willful ignorance by the NDP government toward Kamloops and the needs of those in the community who suffer a cardiac episode, as they have to be transferred to the Cath Lab in Kelowna for further testing.
“Read between the lines,” mused Patel. “If you don’t win the election from the people, they say ‘they don’t give us the votes, so why should we give them the service’.”
As for the future of his fundraising efforts, Patel says he’s giving the Province until the end of year to come up with firm timelines for both the reopening of the Coronary Care Unit and the establishment of Cath Lab at Royal Inland.
