Eby and Rustad make healthcare promises days before Election Day
John Rustad and David Eby both held press conferences in Nanaimo on October 16. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm
On October 16, Nanaimo was on the campaign trail, for both BC NDP party leader David Eby and Conservative Party of BC leader John Rustad with both holding pressers leading up to Election Day this Saturday.
Eby held his press conference on Wednesday morning at Loudon Park on Long Lake speaking on the promises of better healthcare in British Columbia.
“I know that healthcare is a critically important issue for so many British Columbians,” Eby said. “We came through the pandemic, those amazing healthcare workers worked overtime under incredibly stressful conditions, and many in the end, chose to retire at the exact time that our population was growing faster than ever before.”
He said that in many parts of the world including in British Columbia, there has become a shortage of healthcare workers leaving a considerable strain on the healthcare system and making it harder for people to find the care they need.
Eby said if elected they plan on bringing 45,000 healthcare workers in the province to minimize that strain and allow people access to a family doctor.
“In the last year, we've connected 250,000 British Columbians to a family doctor,” he said. “For the first time in 20 years, fewer people are looking for a family doctor than the year before, and the rate of connection is only going to increase with 160,000 more people in the next six months, getting a family doctor or nurse practitioner.”
This comes after Eby promised a new patient tower for the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) after his last visit to Nanaimo at the end of September.
When Eby was asked by the media about the timeline for the start of building the new patient tower if the BC NDP won the election, he said planning would begin immediately.
“We'll be beginning the planning immediately with the doctors and nurses of the hospital, which is called the Business Plan Process, to plan out all of the services, how that will all integrate together and make sure that it works for the people of Nanaimo,” Eby said. “I can't wait to get started on it, I know it's a priority for the people who live here.”
On the topic of a new cath–or catheterization lab in Nanaimo, that groups like the Fair Care Alliance have been advocating for, Eby said their commitment to better health care in Nanaimo will continue.
“So our commitment around cancer care and the cardiac cath lab here in Nanaimo continues. The patient tower, the cath lab and the cancer care aren't dependent on each other, they're all separate projects that will proceed with separate business plans, and they're not dependent on each other in terms of sequencing or timing,” Eby said. “We need to make sure that they all work together as an integrated whole, which is why they'll be the business plan for the patient care tower.”
John Rustad held a press conference later in the afternoon outside the NRGH before heading off to a rally in downtown Nanaimo.
During the press conference, he announced if elected his government would build both a new patient tower and a cath lab for Nanaimo.
“For too long like I say, patients, whether it is for heart issues or any other sort of issue, have to travel the Malahat, have to travel down to Victoria to get those services, and I just think that's not right,” Rustad said. “It's tough enough for people in Nanaimo and even south of Nanaimo, let alone people in the north end of the island.”
He said these two new services are desperately needed and believes they will also help reduce the pressure on services in the south end of the island.
“There's no question it is on the verge of collapsing. Healthcare workers are burnt out, our doctors are burnt out, we're not getting the services where we need them across this province,” he said. “We do need to look at change, that's why we want to have a healthcare model that is focused on patients first, making sure that patients receive the care they are but making sure that our healthcare system is actually focused on that, rather than the system itself.”
In a press release posted the same day by the Conservative Party of BC it said that the new patient tower project is expected to take 8-10 years to complete and cost an estimated $2 billion.
“I've talked to the health care professionals in the area–in the Nanaimo area, before, there's no question this is something that is needed,” Rustad said.
Rustad did not go into detail about the timeline or how much the new cath lab would cost.
The BC Greens Party has promised if elected to rework the healthcare system into a “Dogwood model” for primary care which would establish a network of health centres that will allow British Columbians to have access to doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, and specialists like dietitians and physiotherapists within their community. The BC Greens say this new model will streamline complicated referrals and ensure timely, comprehensive care all in one place.
The BC Green Party also confirmed with CHLY that if elected they would support a new patient tower for the NRGH.
General Election Day is October 19th. Locations for voting stations can be found on the Elections BC website.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.