Airfare and hotel costs in Vancouver are skyrocketing as FIFA nears, and this is having an impact on those who need to travel for health reasons.

Some First Nations communities are now warning their residents who might need to visit the city for healthcare that they may not be able to.

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The Nisgaa Valley Health Authority says, unless there is an emergency and life-saving care is needed, it will not be able to transport patients to Vancouver for higher levels of care during FIFA, because costs of accommodation and airfare are simply too high.

Paul Adams with the BC Rural Healthcare Network says it might only be for a couple weeks, but there are still serious concerns with disruptions like this.

“Many of those procedures and appointments are critical to their well-being,” he said.

“They wait for extremely long times in order to receive specialist appointments, different diagnostic tests, surgeries.”

He says the network took the step of blocking out a large number of hotel rooms in advance of the tournament because they’ve been anticipating this for months, but he says that in the absence of any financial help for the organization, they have had to release the rooms.

The network says rural patients end up spending thousands on hotels and flights when they need to access care in Vancouver, causing serious concerns about equity.

“There is the challenge for people who have to have long-term stays, post-surgery,” Adams said.

“That includes patients such as transplant patients who are coming in, and then they’re required to stay in Vancouver for three months or longer.”

The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), which encompasses over 200 First Nations in B.C., tells 1130 NewsRadio it has communicated these concerns in an advisory to community members.

“Due to the extraordinary pressure on transportation and accommodation that Vancouver will experience during this period, the advisory encourages non-urgent and non-emergency medical appointments be rescheduled for before or after this period where possible,” it said.

“The advisory also clarifies that emergency medical travel during the June 13 – July 7 period will be booked by FNHA as usual. However, due to extraordinary pressure on transportation and accommodation, there may be situations where bookings are unavailable.”

The authority says communities may need to arrange travel directly, and it says members may be eligible for reimbursement.

FIFA gets underway in June. Vancouver will host seven matches in the tournament.