With British Columbians waiting an average of 58 minutes to see a doctor at a walk-in clinic, the Premier says we are in a healthcare crisis.

John Horgan was responding to a new report from Canadian tech company Medimap, which showed B.C. residents wait more than double the national average of 25 minutes to see a doctor at a walk-in clinic.

“The lineups are getting longer because we don’t have the resources to manage them,” Horgan said Thursday.

“One of the proudest elements of our social safety net here in Canada is public healthcare but it will continue to erode if we don’t have a massive infusion of federal capital. When the program started, it was a 50-50 proposition. It is about 80-20 now, 80 per cent falling to provinces.”

Medimap says six of the top 10 cities with the longest average wait times in Canada were in B.C. last year. The longest average wait time at more than two and a half hours was in Victoria.

Kelowna, White Rock, North Vancouver, and Vancouver also recorded average wait-times that were longer than one hour.

In comparison, Ontario at 15 minutes and Alberta at 18 minutes had the shortest average wait times in 2021. Manitoba wait times were about 20 minutes on average, with Saskatchewan at 31 minutes.

“Many Canadians rely on walk-in clinics when they need to see a doctor. We created Medimap as a simple solution that saves time and frustration for these people when they need access to care,” Medimap CEO and Founder, Blake Adam, said.

“By partnering with clinic owners to provide patients with easy access to wait times at clinics in their community we are able to significantly improve access to care and contribute to a more efficient health care system.”

Horgan said he is confident that Health Minister Adrian Dix has a plan in place to improve the situation in B.C., but he cautioned it will take federal resources to make it happen.

“It is not just doctors, it is nurse practitioners. It is registered nurses, it is care aides, it is the continuum of care. We need more social workers. We need more psychologists,” he said. “As we address decades of neglect of mental health issues, we need more healthcare professionals to address those challenges.”

“I have been arguing as the leader of the Council of the Federation with the Federal Government that we need a massive infusion of cash from Ottawa to deliver our public healthcare programs here in Canada…so we can build back the system we are so proud of here in Canada.”

“It is what separates us from the United States.”