Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, has issued the following statement in recognition of National Nursing Week, May 9-15, and National Nursing Day, May 12, 2022:

Thousands of people in B.C. will benefit from BC PharmaCare’s new and expanded coverage of medications for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, severe hypoglycemia, migraines, the treatment of low white blood cell levels, multiple sclerosis, heart failure, and birth control.

Effective May 1, 2022, Medical Services Plan (MSP) policy will be updated so individuals who remain in B.C. with maintained status will have access to temporary MSP coverage until a decision is made by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on their application for extension.

People in health-care facilities in Vancouver are benefiting from stable, consistent and supportive patient care as more support service workers and services return in-house as Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) employees.

People living on Vancouver Island will benefit from an additional 2,300 surgeries and 2,300 endoscopies per year, as Island Health assumes the leases and buys assets from two private surgical centres.

An innovative new centre for children and youth with complex health-care needs is moving forward with government approval of the project’s business plan.

People in health-care facilities in the Lower Mainland are benefiting from stable, consistent and supportive patient care as more support service workers, who were previously contracted out, return as Fraser Health employees.