VICTORIA (July 12, 2022) – In light of growing calls for action, and the Premier’s continued inability to articulate steps his government is taking to address the health care crisis, Kevin Falcon and the BC Liberals are calling on the NDP to immediately implement a 30-day action plan to start tackling the crisis in primary care.
“For months, our BC United Caucus has joined health care workers and members of the public in pressing the NDP to take real action to solve our health care crisis — but unacceptably, this NDP government continues to respond with rhetoric rather than results,” said BC United Leader Kevin Falcon. “Every part of our health care system is in crisis, but the needed fix starts with primary care. Nearly one million British Columbians do not have a family doctor and as the crisis worsens, this government continues to blame others instead of takings steps to fix the problem. People cannot afford to wait any longer for the NDP to act — we need an action plan with clear outcomes that will get people access to the care they need.”
The BC Liberals are calling for a 30-day action plan to address the crisis in primary care that includes:
- valuing and respecting our physician community through genuine consultation and cooperatively solving identified issues;
- providing family physicians and specialists greater financial compensation for overhead and operating costs;
- providing increased compensation for unpaid work and indirect care;
- updating and simplifying the fee schedule to reduce complexity and time wasted;
- auditing and addressing the ongoing dysfunction of the NDP’s Urgent and Primary Care Centres (UPCCs);
- reducing the onerous administrative burden on family physicians through the elimination of redundant paperwork;
- allowing for more collaborative team-based care and addressing the shortage of locum resources;
- accelerating the accreditation and certification of foreign-trained doctors;
- addressing rising business costs from harmful NDP taxation and payroll policies; and
- finally releasing a health human resources plan — something the NDP has been promising for years.
“The crisis in our health care system is getting worse, not better,” said Shirley Bond, BC United Critic for Health. “This will continue until government takes real steps, like the solutions we’ve outlined, to solve the underlying issues putting pressure on the system. Access to primary care is essential, both for people’s health, and for the overall health care system, but right now, far too many people do not have a family doctor. At the same time, family doctors are left to try and manage with an overwhelmed and understaffed health care system, all while feeling increasingly underappreciated by this NDP government that refuses to acknowledge their concerns.”
“For all their talk about working for people, the NDP has remained incapable of stepping up and delivering a coherent plan to address the crisis in primary care,” added Falcon. “We are talking about people’s health, their lives and wellbeing, and the time to act is long overdue. The NDP must take action, for the health of all British Columbians.”
Backgrounder: B.C. health care closure crisis (Updated July 12, 2022)
