Chronic disease expert at pioneer B.C. Women’s clinic leaves abruptly
[CanLyme note: From freedom of information documents it is clear that the clinic came about as a result of the now famous Schmidt report on Lyme Disease. The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation sat on the patient’s advisory panel for over 2 years during the development of the clinic but we withdrew when it was clear there would be no proper, ethical diagnosis or treatment for Lyme Disease patients at that clinic due to interference by administration, Infectious Disease physicians, and the absolute refusal of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control to acknowledge that they have relied upon very poor testing for over two decades despite the abundance of research. The patient’s and their experts were simply paid lip service and given a pat on the head, a total waste of time and tax dollars as they create more ways to “manage” symptoms instead of dealing with causes such as infectious disease. So long as this clinic is affiliated with the BC Women’s Hospital administration, and the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control it will be operated by dogma, not good medicine. Lyme Disease as you see by this article never was a serious part of this clinic despite the fact that is why it was created and tax dollars were spent in the first place. The administration and BC CDC methodically shifted the focus away from chronic Lyme Disease diagnosis and treatment, and now we hear that the BC Minister of Health is going to give them more of our money to do nothing which will create more chronically ill BC residents to medicate with expensive, harmful, non-curative drugs. Dr. Bested didn’t have a chance tto make any change. She was told what she could and could do do as far as treatment. She had to follow the terrible “best practices” that are imposed upon unsuspecting residents despite everything that was said by Dr. Brian Schmidt, a senior executive with the Public Health Services Agenecy of BC who truly investigated and recommend major change to current “best practices”. Instead, the good old boys took control and nothing was accomplished except their heads got a little fatter, and more poeple are headed for a life of chronic disability. People will be funneled quickly through the clinic with no serious investigation of potentially trreatable infectious cause to their chronic illness and they will be given a lifetime of expensive symptom “management” protocols that will continue to be paid for by each and every taxpayer in ever-increasing amounts. One has to wonder how long it will take for our elected provincial representatives to force change. They can do it just like several states in the USA have now done to take the control away from the good old boys, saving thousands from a life of disability.]
Patients mourn loss of ‘wonderful’ doctor as health officials vow B.C. Women’s clinic will stay open
The respected expert who led Canada’s first hospital clinic for patients with chronic diseases like Lyme, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia has abruptly left, causing about 1,000 patients waiting for care at the Vancouver clinic to worry about their treatment.
The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) says it will keep the Complex Chronic Disease Program at B.C. Women’s Hospital clinic open and find a replacement for Dr. Alison Bested, a nationally recognized authority on diseases like fibromyalgia (FM) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Bested’s hiring in 2012 was hailed as a coup when she moved here from Toronto to set up the clinic.
Heather Stewart, a Tsawwassen resident with fibromyalgia and other health problems, said she saw Bested in April and couldn’t believe how comprehensive her two- to three-hour appointment was. This week, she received a letter from the hospital informing her of Bested’s departure.
I have fibromyalgia and saw Dr Bested in the fall of this year.My first appointment with the Dr was over two hours it was the most comprehensive appointment I have ever had.She ordered blood tests that have never been done on me before. There were several tests that showed a necessity of treatment. I also attended classes taught by Dr. Bested. My knowledge of my condition was explained like never before. I now have a deeper understanding of my condition. There were other staff members attending these classes so they would be able to teach the classes in future.This would free Dr Bested to see more patients. These conditions leave patients with a horrible disability. Most of us are in constant pain, and suffering s from food sesitivities and medication side effects.. Dr. Bested was our shining light. She gave us hope that theses conditions with no cure could be somewhat managed. Thank you to Dr. Bested for doing this for us. I personally am very upset to see her go, not just for me but for others that will attend the clinic now operating without her insight.