This provincial election will decide the future of public health care in British Columbia

For Immediate Release

The BC Health Coalition launches Platform for Public Health Care and 6 Priority Solutions 

As the provincial election begins, the BC Health Coalition is launching a platform that puts public health care and the people who rely on it first. The public health care advocacy organization is using the platform to raise the bar on what commitments the provincial parties make. 

The BC Health Coalition will be asking candidates and parties to say where they stand on six priority solutions that will deliver a real impact on the health of all BC residents. These six practical solutions are vital to build a better quality public care system that’s accessible to all and one that ultimately saves the public money.

“Recent polling shows that improving our public health care system is one of the most important issues that people in British Columbia care about. But beyond the political slogans, we need to know if parties will actually commit to real solutions that will heal and strengthen our public healthcare system,” says Ayendri Riddell, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the BC Health Coalition. 

The BC Health Coalition is raising the bar by launching a platform for public health care and calling on all political parties to commit to six priority solutions:

  • Guarantee access to on-going Primary Health Care
  • Provide coverage for medicines that people rely on
  • Rapidly reduce surgical wait-times  
  • Improve access and quality of seniors care
  • Protect funding for public healthcare from being used as profits
  • Create sustainable working conditions for all health care workers

We all know there are many challenges facing our public healthcare system, but what we need to know from all of the parties during this election is what will be their prescriptions that will heal and expand health care.  We will be examining the party commitments to see if they will actually help to heal the public system or if they are just proposing band-aids, or worse — poison pills that will undermine public health care,” says Riddell. 

 

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Media Contacts

BC Health Coalition, Ayendri Riddell

604-349 9079, [email protected]

The BC Health Coalition is a B.C.-wide non-partisan, non-profit coalition of community members, health care workers, researchers, NGO and community service providers. We base our policy positions on peer-reviewed research and on our mission to strengthen and defend the public health care system.

A Spokesperson will be in-front of St. Paul's Hospital from 10am-11:30am if you'd like a live interview or to send cameras.

St Paul's Hospital 
1081 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6


Materials: 

See 6 Priority Solutions here

See Our Criteria for Assessing Policy Positions here 

See Full Platform here

Downloadable Press Release here

Please visit our website, https://www.bchealthcoalition.ca/ to learn more about our work