The West Kootenay healthcare system has been under heavy strain after at least four doctors left the area, and the only two walk-in clinics in the region operate in Nelson under limited hours, with same-day appointments only available on weekends.

Shortening the backlogs on other critical healthcare areas, such as surgeries and imaging has come with a hefty price tag to private corporations, a new report argues.

According to the report The concerning rise of corporate medicine, published in August by think tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the annual payments increased by 57 per cent yearly over that time period.

The B.C Government has awarded contracts for close to $393 million to private for-profit imaging and surgery clinics since 2015, the report found.

Author Andrew Longhurst told KCR’s Kootenay Morning about the think tank’s report this week, pointing out that the group also found evidence of double-billing of patients on top of the provincial contract.

KCR News journalist John Rune reports: