Rustad ignored problems at Nanaimo Hospital before, plans to cut now

NANAIMO – At a town hall in Nanaimo, surrounded by supporters, David Eby announced that he will continue to strengthen health care in Nanaimo with a new patient tower for the local hospital.

“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.”

This announcement builds on investments made by the BC NDP in Nanaimo and across the province. Currently, 30 hospital projects are complete or underway all over BC under the BC NDP’s historic investments to build healthcare infrastructure.

“We heard the needs of people in Nanaimo, and we took action by building a new ICU,” said Eby. “John Rustad’s record speaks for itself. 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.”

In 2013, John Rustad's government received a shocking report – an external review calling the Nanaimo ICU “by far the worst we have seen in Canada.” He should have taken action to fix it. Instead, he ignored the problem – and put Nanaimo patients at risk. The BC NDP government fixed the problem Rustad and the former government wouldn’t, with a new ICU that provides both a technological upgrade and an expansion in size to provide better healthcare services.