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Letter: Birth bumping a 1% problem, at best

Dear Editor, Before we turn ourselves hysterical, let’s look at the numbers. Of 1,935 births last year, 305 or 15 per cent were of non-resident mothers.
Richmond News
Belleza
Richard and Kelly Belleza were part of that one per cent of expectant parents who were bumped out of Richmond Hospital’s maternity ward in July 2014 due to high occupancy. Photo submitted

Dear Editor,

Before we turn ourselves hysterical, let’s look at the numbers. Of 1,935 births last year, 305 or 15 per cent were of non-resident mothers. How many of them had spouses who were Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or simply on work permits? All taxpayers.

And in terms of potential bumping, 14 out of 1,935 births were transferred to another hospital due to space and staffing issues. That’s one per cent. We don’t even know if some of those cases were because staff called in sick. In any case, this is, at most, a one per cent problem, and at worst another example of “project fear” virus going around the Western world.

Mark Lee

Richmond