BC NDP will also expand options for reproductive health care while Rustad’s cuts, anti-choice candidates put it at risk

VERNON – At a campaign stop in Vernon, David Eby said he will attract more doctors, nurses, and health professionals to BC with new incentives and targeted loan forgiveness tied to staying in British Columbia.
“As our communities grow and more health professionals retire, we’re facing a critical shortage that’s putting big pressure on the people keeping our hospitals running. That’s leaving too many people dealing with crowded emergency rooms and long waits,” said Eby. “Our plan is helping us win the competition for doctors and nurses during a global shortage by making it more attractive for them to work and stay in our province. This will have a big impact on rural communities who have been hit hardest by the shortage of health care workers.”
Eby’s plan will grow the health care workforce so they are there when people need them, with recruitment incentives and new targeted loan forgiveness tied to a long-term BC residency guarantee. These new actions build on work underway to train and hire more doctors, nurses and other health care workers than ever before, including breaking down barriers to get internationally trained workers off the sidelines and into BC hospitals and clinics. In the last year alone, BC has added over 800 new family doctors and 6,300 new nurses and started to shorten waits for patients.
Eby also said he will expand the role of midwives so they can provide the full range of treatment for medical abortions and provide IUD insertions – giving high-quality care to women when they need it, in the communities where they live. This is especially important for women in rural communities where they often have to travel long distances to access reproductive care. John Rustad’s plan for cuts and his anti-choice candidates would put access to reproductive health care at risk – including free prescription birth control.
“John Rustad wants to cut billions from health care and bring in American-style privatization – taking health workers out of our hospitals and leaving you waiting for worse care,” said Eby. “His record as a BC Liberal cabinet minister shows he would cut taxes for those at the top while starving our hospitals and health clinics of the workers they need to deliver the care British Columbians deserve. It’s a risk we can’t afford.”

David Eby’s plan to attract health professionals to BC and improve access to reproductive health care includes:

• Introducing a new loan forgiveness incentive that’s tied to a guarantee health workers will stay in BC. Making it more attractive for the doctors, nurses, and other health care professions we’re graduating to stay in our communities – for a minimum of five years.
• Expanding scope for midwives to manage and provide medical abortions. Empowering midwives to support women directly and enable easier access to abortion care – especially needed in rural areas. They will also be able to provide IUD insertions, STI testing and provision of care for sexual assaults.
• Getting out-of-province health professionals delivering care sooner by requiring BC’s health regulatory colleges to provide provisional licences immediately to Canadian-trained providers and within six weeks for providers from approved jurisdictions.
• Removing red tape for doctors and nurses traveling to lend a hand in rural and remote communities. So a doctor working in Vancouver, who’s willing to help out for a week in a community like Prince Rupert or Chetwynd, hears a resounding yes when they offer to help.
• Reducing reliance on private staffing agencies. Expanding the public GoHealthBC service to support communities with staffing shortages, so patients and health providers alike in rural and remote communities have better working conditions and better care outcomes.