On July 30, MLA Dan Davies hosted a rally in the North Peace for better health care, demanding immediate action to fix British Columbia’s healthcare system.
First photo: Mayor Travous Quibell of Hudson’s Hope, MLA Dan Davies, Mayor Rob Fraser of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, Lilia Hansen of Fort St. John on stage at the rally for better healthcare.
Over 100 residents of the Peace showed up for the rally in Fort St. John, which allowed locals to voice their perspectives and frustrations regarding the repeated emergency room closures that plague the Peace Region.
Mayor Lilia Hansen of Fort St. John, Mayor Rob Fraser of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, and Mayor Travous Quibell of Hudson’s Hope all joined MLA Dan Davies on stage to advocate for better healthcare.
"BC is experiencing a healthcare crisis, and rural BC is suffering doubly,” said Mayor Quibell. “In regions where help is often more than an hour away under ideal circumstances, sometimes much more, we are being told to go to the next emergency room down the road because, sorry, this one's closed. BC deserves better, the Peace Region deserves better."
Mayor Hansen commented, “We know these are difficult times, but solving our complex healthcare challenges requires collaboration from all levels of government. We must work together to find solutions that will improve healthcare for our community.”
Mayor Fraser attributed the current crisis to the elimination of local hospital boards and the centralization of healthcare administration.
“Today was an amazing showing of solidarity by our citizens, elected officials, and First Nations leadership in sending a message to Minister Adrian Dix and the NDP government that we deserve better healthcare. I was honored to see so many people raising the issue of our failed medical system. Our residents deserve better,” said MLA Davies in a media release.
"British Columbians expect and deserve access to their local hospitals during medical emergencies. After eight years of broken NDP promises, hospitals are in chaos and ERs are repeatedly closing, leading to devastating consequences for both patients and overburdened healthcare staff.”
The first part of the “United to Fix Healthcare” plan was announced by Kevin Falcon and BC United last month. The plan centers on prioritizing patients in every decision and features publicly funded healthcare provided through private facilities. It also ensures transparent access to health records and sets clear performance targets for healthcare services.
According to the press release, to enhance hospital staffing levels, BC United will promptly reinstate the thousands of unvaccinated healthcare workers terminated by David Eby during the pandemic.
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