Honourable Minister de Jong:
I am writing to you to ask you to put patient safety first in BC by instituting a regulatory college for medical laboratory and radiation technologists.
These technologists perform tests that provide vital information about our health. Up to 85 per cent of decisions about a patient’s diagnosis and treatment are based on laboratory test results or on the results of diagnostic imaging such as CT Scans, X-rays and MRI’s. Radiation technologists apply ionizing radiation to individuals for diagnostic tests and for cancer treatments. Patient safety is very dependent on the right dosage being administered.
The technologists who perform these tests and administer these treatments are not licensed in BC by a regulatory college, as are most other health professionals. BC is one of the few provinces in Canada that does not have a regulatory college for these professionals.
I believe that this lack of regulation and licensing poses a significant risk to patient safety in BC, particularly because there is no mandatory requirement for continuing education and continuing competency of technologists.
I understand that in a recent public survey across BC, 89% of those surveyed believed both medical laboratory and radiation technologists should be regulated. The public must have confidence that their tests and treatments are performed by competent and skilled professionals. A regulatory college works to ensure these standards are upheld.
Patient safety is something that cannot be ignored or compromised. It has to come first.
Mr. Minister, please begin the work of establishing a regulatory college for medical technologists. British Columbian patients deserve no less.