John Rustad has accused the NDP of "failing British Columbians" after a mother lamented that her injured soccer-loving son was being prevented from returning to the sport that he loves because of long health care wait times. The Conservative leader placed the blame at the feet of Premier David Eby's government, which he described as "dysfunctional."The boy's mother, former clinical health researcher and forensic anthropologist Sarah McShane, was also not pleased with the state of the healthcare system under the NDP, tagging the party and Health Minister Adrian Dix in a post on X on Thursday.."My 13-year-old soccer player has a double fracture to his L5 vertebra," McShane wrote. "Referral to [BC Children's Hospital] and we're told it's a ONE YEAR wait for a consult. For real? He's in pain and can't play the sport he loves. This is not ok."Rustad quoted her post, calling the situation "just plain wrong," making it clear that he believed "no child in British Columbia should have to wait a year to see a doctor.""Healthcare under Eby's radical, dysfunctional NDP government is failing British Columbians," he declared..In a follow-up post on Friday, McShane provided an update, explaining that she was "able to speak to a very kind staff member at [BC Children's Hospital." She thanked the employee for taking the time to hear her out, and noted that, "although we don't see the surgeon soon, my son will be able to be seen by the medical team in the dept to answer our questions."British Columbians have seen wait times grow longer and longer over the past few years. A report by the Fraser Institute found that in 2022, the average wait time to see a specialist was 12.4 weeks, with patients waiting an average of 13.4 weeks to receive treatment.
