[LabComm] Campbell breaking new promise on long-term care beds - Kwan

[BC NDP NEWSWIRE]

Campbell breaking new promise on long-term care beds - Kwan

Gordon Campbell is using federal social housing dollars to boost tally

Victoria - British Columbians are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to provincial and federal government partnerships to create assisted living beds in the province at the expense of real long-term care beds for seniors, NDP MLA Jenny Kwan said today.

After breaking his promise to build 5000 new long-term care beds by 2006, Gordon Campbell has begun counting assisted living units in the tally in a desperate attempt to meet his new target of 2008.

"Gordon Campbell is piggy-backing on federal government social housing projects in order to claim he is meeting the goal of building 5000 additional new long-term care beds," said Kwan.  "If he was actually serious about fulfilling that commitment, he would have included long-term care funding in his pre-election budget."

David Emerson, the federal Minister of Industry, was in BC this week to announce the federal government was teaming up with the Vancouver Island Health Authority in the creation of a 20-unit subsidized assisted living facility in Port Alberni. 

"This partnership means that the federal government can point to the project as part of its requirements to fund social housing initiatives, but it doesn't mean that Mr. Campbell can point to such a project as meeting his broken promise to build 5000 new long-term care beds.

"This is a game of smoke and mirrors," said Kwan. "Instead of the community receiving funding for both much needed social housing and long-term care facilities for seniors, they get one facility that both the federal and provincial governments take credit for."

Assisted living units are important in meeting the needs of those seniors still able to live independently, but such facilities do not ease the growing demand for long-term care beds in communities across the province.  That demand has put increased, unsustainable pressure on acute care facilities and emergency wards all across BC.

In 2001 Gordon Campbell promised to build 5000 new long-term care beds by 2006. Four years later communities across the province are dealing with net reductions of beds, causing hospital overflow and severe emergency room backlog. No funding for the creation of new long-term care beds was allocated in the 2005/06 budget.

"Gordon Campbell needs to stop changing the definition of long-term care beds in order to cover-up his broken promises," said Kwan. "Instead of ensuring our public health care system is meeting the needs of seniors, Mr. Campbell is relying on spin and manipulation to cover his tracks."

"British Columbians deserve to know the truth."

- 30 -

To unsubscribe or change your settings go to: http://www.e-2ve6y.signup2.bc.ndp.ca/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://bcfed.net/pipermail/labcomm/attachments/20050317/22cf3c77/attachment.html>