B.C.’s Health Minister has announced $118-million in stabilization funding for family doctors across the province.

A partnership with Doctors of BC, Adrian Dix says family doctors will be eligible for an average of $25,000 each to help tide them over until amid rising operational costs until a new physician master agreement and a new compensation model are established this fall.

“This action will help stabilize our primary care system,” Dix said Wednesday.

“It will ensure that family doctors can maintain their practices, and this action will ensure that family doctors can care for their patients as we work together on long term solutions that renew, build, and strengthen primary care in our province.”

Nearly a million British Columbians are without a family doctor, with Dix noting about 3,480 family doctors who have their own practices and 1,100 at walk-in clinics are expected to benefit, representing more than 70 per cent of the family doctors working in the province.

“Ensuring British Columbians get the ongoing primary care they need means supporting B.C.͛s family doctors in the ways that help them provide the quality care patients rely on,” Dix added, noting  this is the first part of a multi-phased approach to “help protect and improve B.C.’s health-care system.”

“Rising operational costs are affecting their ability to provide patient care, and we’ve been working closely with Doctors of BC to find solutions. This interim stabilization funding to family doctors is a key action in supporting their care to patients as we work to finalize a long-term solution this fall.”

Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, president of Doctors of BC, says operational costs have risen to eat up an average 30 to 40 per cent of a family doctor’s income, which incentivizes them to leave the practice.

“Today’s announcement is a first step to help family doctors keep their doors open until we can develop and implement a new payment model,” Dosanjh said, noting this money will help “stop the bleeding.”

“We’ve heard loud and clear from our doctors that this is a much needed step. That we cannot allow clinic closures to continue at the rate they have been.”

“This funding gives us time to finalize and implement [that] new payment model that will help us recruit and retain doctors into family practice. My heart goes out to all those patients suffering because everyone truly does deserve a family doctor.”

The funding includes $75 million from the B.C. Ministry of Health and $43 million from the General Practices Services Committee, a collaborative committee co-chaired by the ministry and Doctors of BC that was established through the physician master agreement.

In a statement, the B.C. Green Party says the money is one of the many steps the government needs to take to show they value doctors and nurses in the province.

“Why today and not months ago? Many clinics have closed their doors while the government did nothing to address the increasing cost of overhead,” Adam Olsen, the MLA for Saanich North and the Islands said. “Doctors in my riding have raised this with me for years now, I’ve shared their concerns with the Ministry of Health. Their lack of action up until now has cost people their family doctor and access to primary healthcare.”

“This crisis requires more than a series of government announcements. Confidence in government’s ability to address this crisis is low and to earn the public trust back the Ministry of Health can’t keep responding to it with Band-Aids.