Public Confidence In BC's Healthcare System

(Vancouver, BC - July 12th, 2001) - As the new BC Liberal government takes over in Victoria, an Ipsos-Reid/BCTV/Vancouver Sun poll conducted during the first week of July shows the public's confidence in BC's health care system has been dramatically shaken over the past year. More than two-thirds of British Columbians (68%) say their confidence in the system has dropped, and half (50%) now lack confidence they would get the medical services they or someone in their family required. "It's clear that British Columbians are very worried about the state of their health care system," comments Daniel Savas, Senior Vice-President at Ipsos-Reid. "As government and health care professionals in BC struggle to find common ground on how to deliver needed medical services in a more efficient and cost effective manner, the public is growing more impatient with the lack of progress. It's not readily apparent to them when or if the problems will be resolved."

Poll findings suggest that the drop in public confidence may be tied to two things: how the health care system is delivering services, and recent job actions by healthcare professionals. In fact, 4-in-10 BC residents who needed medical attention in the past year say they experienced delays or service disruptions. Further, contract disputes with doctors, nurses, and others are affecting how and if the public accesses the health care system; 1-in-4 BC residents who needed medical attention (24%) say they delayed going to the hospital or to a doctor's office as a result of recent job actions. And, this appears to be having a negative effect on the public's image of BC nurses, in particular; overall, 4-in-10 (42%) BC residents say their impressions of nurses have gotten worse over the past few months, compared to only 16% whose views have improved. "Clearly, recent job actions by health care professionals in the province are contributing to the dampened confidence in BC's health care system," observes Mr. Savas. "It's getting to the point where British Columbians are beginning to question the system's ability to take care of them. This goes against the grain of what the public has come to expect from a publicly-funded system, and could have broader ramifications for many of the key players and the options that might be put on the table as the health care reform agenda moves forward. The risk for the nurses, in particular, is that, should the dispute drag on much longer, their public image could take further hits and might cut significantly into support for their position."

Confidence In Bc's Health Care System Dropping; 68% Of Bc Public Say Confidence In System Is Worse Today Than A Year Ago

An Ipsos-Reid poll taken during the first week of July 2001, reveals that British Columbians' confidence in the provincial health care system is down dramatically. A very substantial 68% of residents say their confidence in the system has gotten worse over the past year. This includes more than four-in-ten BC residents (41%) whose confidence is "a lot worse". By comparison, only 3% are more confident, while 29% say their confidence has stayed about the same.

These findings are the latest in a long line of growing negative perceptions we've found in a series of Ipsos-Reid polls taken over the past decade. In March of 2000, for example, 73% of British Columbians felt the quality of health care services in BC had gotten worse; that figure was up 12 points from September of 1998 (61% gotten worse), and up an astonishing 35 points from 1993 (38% gotten worse).

The current drop in confidence in BC's health care system is shared by BC residents across the province and from all walks of life, with very little variation. The only exception is that BC women are more likely than men to hold negative views (73% lower confidence vs. 62% for men).

50% Of Bc Public Not Confident They Would Get The Health Care They Required If They Needed Medical Attention Today

The drop in confidence in BC's health care system has reached a point where fully one-half (50%) of BC residents say they are not confident of getting the required health care if they or someone in their immediate family needed medical services today. This includes one-in-five (20%) who are "not at all confident". By comparison, 50% remain confident the health care system would provide the needed medical services, including 13% who are "very confident".

British Columbians from all regions and all socio-demographic groups (gender, age, income) hold similar views on this issue, with one regional exception. While 47% of residents living in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island hold doubts about getting the medical attention they require, this jumps to a full 58% among British Columbians living in the Rest of BC (Interior, North, and South East).

4-In-10 British Columbians Needing Medical Attention Have Experienced Disruptions Or Delays In Service

The drop in confidence in BC's health care system is tied, in part, to the public's experience with the service they receive. For a good number of British Columbians, the experience has not been very positive. Indeed, among those who needed medical attention over the past year, 40% said they personally experienced delays or service disruptions in the service provided (compared to 34% for the public as a whole).

These findings indicate a shift over the past year in the public's perceptions of the kind of service they receive from BC's health care system. In March of 2000, for example, among those who received medical attention at their doctor's office, a hospital, or elsewhere, fully 82% said they were "satisfied with the quality of the services they received", and only 18% were dissatisfied. While last year's question wording was somewhat different from this more recent Ipsos-Reid poll, the overall trend speaks to a perceived reduction in quality of service.

The downward trend noted this year is consistent across all regional and demographic groups, with very little statistically significant differences, except one: older British Columbians are less likely to say they've experienced delays than residents under 55 years of age (23% of 55+ have experienced delays vs. 37% of 54 and under).

1-In-4 Bc Residents Needing Medical Attention (24%) Have Delayed Seeking It Due To Recent Job Action By Health Care Professionals

The drop in confidence in BC's health care system to "deliver the goods" is also tied to job actions by BC's healthcare professionals over the past year. Indeed, some British Columbians are re-considering how and if they will seek medical attention as a result of the labour disputes. In total, 24% of BC residents who required medical attention in the past year say they "delayed or did not go to a hospital or doctor's office as a result of recent job actions by healthcare professionals" (compared to 20% for the public as a whole).

Among the total BC population, the tendency to delay or not seek medical attention due to job actions by health care professionals was somewhat greater among young and middle-aged British Columbians (24%) than for those 55 years of age or over (10%).

42% Of British Columbians Say Their Impressions Of Nurses Have Gotten Worse In Past Few Months

With BC's most visible contract dispute between the nurses union and the provincial government (via the Health Employers Association) still unsettled, it's notable that British Columbians' image of the province's nurses has taken a hit. Fully 4-in-10 (42%) residents say their impressions of nurses have gotten worse over the past few months, including 1-in-5 (22%) whose views are "a lot worse". By comparison, just 16% of the BC public have improved opinions of nurses (9% "improved a lot"). Forty-one percent say their impressions have not changed.

Changes in the impressions of BC nurses are consistent across all regions of the province, and among all socio-demographic groups, except one: people living in union households are more likely to have improved impressions of the nurses than those in households without a union member (23% vs. 13%). Also, politically, people who vote Liberal in the recent provincial election are more likely than those who voted NDP to say their views of nurses have worsened (50% vs. 31% NDP).

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Daniel Savas
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid
(604) 893-1610 (office)

Established in 1979, Ipsos-Reid is Canada's leading market research and public opinion company. It is best known for the Angus Reid Express poll, the most widely quoted source of public opinion in the country. Founded by Dr. Angus Reid, Ipsos-Reid has conducted extensive market and social research in 80 countries and in 40 languages, and serves clients around the world through more than 300-professionals and 1,000 data collection staff in 11 offices. The company is a member of the Paris-based Ipsos Group, ranked among the top ten research companies in the world, with specialties in advertising, media, customer satisfaction, public opinion and market research.