Health Care
Rural BC is a great place to live. But people are facing big challenges. Any interruptions to normal services at your local hospital are stressful, especially for anyone in an emergency situation needing immediate care. We need our ERs open. The big issue facing British Columbia and every province across Canada is a shortage of healthcare workers. That’s why we are taking action to recruit more healthcare workers, including nurses and doctors, with a focus on communities experiencing shortages, and also opening a new medical school next September with a focus of training people who want to work in communities across BC. We have introduced retention incentives in northern BC communities, on Vancouver Island, and in the Kootenay region as part of the BC Health Human Resources Strategy. As an example, eligible nurses who fill high needs vacancies in rural and remote communities will be eligible for signing bonuses including nurses who are new to BC’s health system. There are incentives such as relocation assistance, rural retention grant and BC loan forgiveness for nurses who accept regular roles in rural and remote communities. We’ve tripled the capacity of the program to credential internationally-trained doctors to get more trained health workers on the front lines, and we’ve added 128 spaces to UBC medical school across all campuses, including the North, Interior and Vancouver Island to train more doctors close to home. And after years where John Rustad and Kevin Falcon ignored rural communities’ calls for muchneeded new hospitals in rural communities, we are building new, state of the art hospitals in rural communities that improve care for patients and working conditions for healthcare workers to help with recruitment and retention. That includes Mills Memorial Hospital project in Terrace, Dawson Creek & District Hospital replacement, and the new Stuart Lake Hospital in Fort St. James. Community engagement is key. Through in-person events, online engagement, and working groups, health authorities have gathered community input to ensure the new space would be welcoming, functional and culturally safe for all, including medical professionals. These are big challenges. But John Rustad’s plan for deep cuts to the health care system, over $4 billion, would mean fewer doctors and nurses and would make these problems worse.
– British Columbia New Democratic Party
We recognize our healthcare system is in crisis. From constant ER shutdowns, to an inability
to find family doctors, British Columbia deserves better.
The BC Conservatives have put forward our ‘Patients First’ Healthcare Model which will address these challenges and improve the quality of care for all British Columbians, particularly those in rural areas.
In particular, we will enhance incentives for doctors and nurses to work in high-need communities, especially in rural and remote areas.
– Conservative Party of British Columbia
The BC Greens have introduced their plan for primary health care. Known as the ‘Dogwood Model’, the BC Greens would fund a community health centre in every riding in the province, ensuring these services were available to people all across the province. Many healthcare professionals have indicated an interest in working under this model, which provides the benefits of being a staff member, including health benefits and vacation time, and are keen to work under these conditions across the province. More information on this model is detailed under the following question.
We would implement recruitment and retention initiatives, similar to those used by municipalities for primary care practitioners, including rural living allowances, health and wellness benefits, and rental housing options for frontline healthcare workers.
– Green Party of British Columbia
British Columbians expect a government to strengthen healthcare by investing in hospitals and bringing more doctors to BC whether it is Surrey, Vernon, Prince Rupert or Fort St John. While it’s too early to announce platform pieces, we will announce our commitments to British Columbians soon. But we’re not waiting for the election. Through our new deal with family doctors, in just the last two years we’ve hired 800 new family doctors in the last year alone. That’s helped connect 300,000 people to family doctors and nurse practitioners. While there are many more people who still need a family doctor – we’re headed in the right direction. There’s still more work to do. We have tripled the capacity of the program to allow more internationally-trained doctors and nurses to get to work. In the past year, over 900 internationally trained doctors (family doctors and specialists) have been licensed to practice in B.C. – getting trained professionals off the sidelines and into our clinics and hospitals. People want to know they’ll get the healthcare they need when they need it. David Eby is taking action by investing in hospitals and hiring more doctors. When John Rustad and Kevin Falcon were in government they did the opposite, they made cuts to healthcare funding to pay for tax giveaways for the top 2%. Despite promising a “GP for Me”, fewer British Columbians had a family doctor when they left office than had one when they started. We can’t afford to go back, not with the demands our growing population is putting on our healthcare system right now.
– British Columbia New Democratic Party
In the first 100 days we would assess the province’s current healthcare model and look at how we can best expand incentives for doctors and nurses to work in high-need communities.
– Conservative Party of British Columbia
We will review and remove barriers for externally-trained health professionals, making it easier for them to become registered in British Columbia. We would act to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy for family physicians, including legislating to remove the requirement for doctors’ notes for short-term illnesses.
The Dogwood Model
The BC Greens commit to establishing an integrated community health centre in every riding in the province. The ‘Dogwood Model’ is based on former Minister of Health Hon. Jane Philpott’s
Periwinkle Model. It focuses on ensuring everyone has a primary care home – a place where they belong, where they feel at home, where they will go for most of their healthcare needs, and where they have a regular provider – a family physician or nurse practitioner.
The BC Greens will roll out one Dogwood Health Centre in every riding in the province, ensuring the provision of 93 health centres in the first year. These will provide a baseline for growth, with good distribution across the province, upon which we can build.
The Dogwood Model provides several advantages for both practitioners and patients; it has easy referral models, so patients can receive care from the expert that best meets their need, be it a physiotherapist or a dietician. It places the administrative burden on the administrative professionals, rather than the health staff, ensuring they can focus their energies on healthcare, and providing the benefits of being a staff member – including health benefits and paid vacation and parental leave.
– Green Party of British Columbia