This week, Premier David Eby held a town hall meeting in Nanaimo where he announced that the BC NDP would build a new cancer patient tower for the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, if they win the election.
Hospital construction and expansion has become a significant theme of Premier Eby and the BC NDP’s platform going into the upcoming election.
Recently, the BC NDP also announced an investment they would be making into the province’s skilled trades programs in order to expand the workforce capable of building and expanding hospitals as well as accelerating housing growth.
The BC NDP say that currently, 30 hospital projects are either complete or underway across the province.
“Health care should be there when you need it, where you need it,” said Eby. “Delivering better health services in Nanaimo is good for people here and all over the central and north Island.”
“We are building a new cancer care centre right here and I’m committing today to continue improving access to quality health care in this community with a new tower for the hospital.”
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Eby says that if the Conservative Party of BC are elected into power, British Columbians can expect healthcare cuts, rather than investments.
“John Rustad’s record speaks for itself,” said the Premier.
“He has a 20-year record of backing healthcare cuts and ignoring problems. He did it before, and he would do it again. That’s a risk we can’t afford.”
The BC NDP also noted that in 2013, while the BC Liberal Party was in power and Rustad was a representative of that party, an external report found Nanaimo’s ICU to be “by far the worst we have seen in Canada.”
Since that time the BC NDP say they invested in the dishevelled ICU with new technology and additional space.
Rustad and the Conservatives’ ‘Patients First’ healthcare plan does not have any specific provision regarding building or expanding hospitals.
The BC Green Party have yet to announce an overarching healthcare plan.
