More nurses. More doctors. More patient care.
Click to download this section
A key part of our strategy to improve healthcare is to ensure we have the health professionals we need today and in the future. That is why Premier Campbell’s Government has doubled the number of medical spaces, with new medical schools in partnership with UBC at UNBC in Prince George and at the University of Victoria. The new medical school program will be ready to launch in Kelowna this September.
We have also doubled the number of nurse training spaces since 2001 and added 24 new nursing programs in post-secondary institutes across BC. Plus we created the first ever Nurse Practitioner training program in BC, and a new, three-year nursing degree at BCIT to graduate more nurses, faster.
It takes several years for doctors and nurses to complete their training. We have only recently begun to fully benefit from those new graduates, including 13,000 new registered nurses and 1200 new physicians. By contrast, the NDP did not create one new medical training space and actually eliminated 1,600 full-time nursing positions.
Our Platform will create new labour mobility to allow qualified doctors, nurses and other health professionals from anywhere in Canada to automatically be registered to practice in British Columbia. It also expands training through a new medical school in Kelowna. It will build on the new labour agreements recently concluded with the BC Nurses Union and with the BC Medical Association, that will create certainty, stability and constructive working partnerships with government to improve patient care.
