BC Conservatives tout hybrid public-private health care system to cut wait times

The BC Conservative Party unveiled its health-care level connected Thursday, a scheme built connected hiring backmost unvaccinated workers and utilizing backstage providers to trim down connected hold times.

The announcement comes pinch conscionable 3 months to spell earlier British Columbia’s provincial election.

Calling it a “patients-first” model, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad said nan scheme would support a publicly-funded strategy that provides attraction done private, out-of-province and nationalist facilities.

“We request to hole things, and that caller exemplary will beryllium taxpayer-funded but delivered by some authorities and non-government facilities,” Rustad said.

He said nan scheme would trim health-care administration, connection nonstop backing done a “patient-based” backing model, and prosecute much nurses and doctors.

The scheme did not reside really nan state would reside ongoing recruitment and retention problems pinch health-care workers, prevention to committedness to prosecute backmost those who refused to get nan COVID-19 vaccine and connection caller incentives to activity successful agrarian centres.

The statement besides promised a “wait times guarantee,” pinch those near excessively agelong being sent retired of state for care.

Rustad could not supply an estimate connected really overmuch nan scheme would costs but acknowledged location would beryllium an “initial spike” successful spending.

“I don’t person nan precise numbers,” he said. “There are a batch of complexities that person to beryllium put successful spot arsenic we do nan transition.”

“We will beryllium moving pinch nan wellness attraction system, what we are seeing pinch crab correct now is horrendous,” he added.

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The scheme drew swift critiques from nationalist health-care advocates.

“When you fold backstage wellness attraction into a cosmopolitan strategy location are nary much hours, nary much services being provided,” said Ayendri Riddell pinch nan British Columbia Health Coalition.

“Services conscionable displacement to astir profitable patients.”

With jurisdictions crossed Canada facing nan aforesaid struggles to enlistee health-care workers, critics besides said nan scheme would propulsion unit from nan nationalist strategy to backstage facilities, perchance lengthening hold times.

The BC NDP was besides speedy to onslaught nan plan, saying it would magnitude to monolithic cuts.

“What is very clear successful these documents is they want region $4 cardinal and beforehand privatization,” Langford-Juan de Fuca MLA Ravi Parmar said.

BC United, meanwhile, claimed that nan Conservatives had borrowed galore ideas from their ain recently-announced health-care plan.