December 22nd 2011
For Immediate Release
Kelowna—The Okanagan College Students’ Union (OCSU) is outraged over the closures of all five public Sexually Transmitted Infection clinics across the interior of British Columbia. The proposed alternatives are to visit a general practitioner or a walk-in clinic are both completely insufficient and leave many students without access to necessary services. It is well understood that general practitioners are already overtaxed in small towns throughout the interior of BC. Many students attending post-secondary in the interior are from outside the operating area of the Interior Health Authority (IHA) and do not currently have their own general practitioner. Diminishing a student’s access to a feasible means of preventive care and screening not only helps to promote the spread of infection but also helps to encourage the stigma surrounding sexual health.
Ross Saunders, the Internal Director of the OCSU and studying at Penticton Campus of Okanagan College stated “these reductions in service only help to perpetuate further stigma toward sexual health within the youth demographic in the Interior. This is not only a direct attack on youth, but is also a step backwards in health care services in the interior. For the IHA to blatantly disregard their own recommendations and research shows a complete lack of understanding of the needs of the interior.”
The Okanagan College Students' Union also feels that the feasibility of walk-in clinics as an alternative is a shameful attempt at a band-aid solution. In addition many women are uncomfortable with male doctors providing PAPP smears. Given the majority of practitioners’ at these walk-in clinics are male, this presents a challenge for many women seeking service from a female doctor in the interior region.
The OCSU is alarmed that the proposed closures will cause grievous consequences for students. In 2006 the IHA commissioned a sexual health review by the TGS consultation incorporated. The very first recommendation was that “youth reproductive-sexual health services should include the following components: reproductive sexual health education, the provision of contraceptive options including emergency contraceptive pill, pregnancy option counseling and availability of STI clinics.” The review also indicated that duplication of services was not seen as applicable to STI services.
The OCSU implores the IHA to reconsider this drastic move to eliminate access to sexual health services in the Interior. The OCSU further encourages the IHA to not only restore but to increase STI clinics in the interior regions.
The Okanagan College Students' Union represents over 7,000 students studying across the Okanagan-Shuswap region from Osoyoos to Revelstoke and is a proud member of the Canadian Federation of Students.
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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Ross Saunders: 250-460.1440
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