Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall has issued the following statement: 

Following public consultation on draft regulations, a new college of diagnostic and therapeutic health professions is established and will become fully functional in the next 12-18 months.

As of March 31, the Province has opened 500 additional substance-use treatment and intervention beds throughout British Columbia.

Government has learned new information about the PharmaNet privacy incidents as a result of the investigative work jointly undertaken by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and the ministries of Health, Finance, and Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services.

Cutting-edge health research projects at Genome BC received a big boost with $20 million in new additional government funding, which was announced after recently wrapping up the second annual #BCTECH Summit.

A housing study for First Nations Elders and developing social networks are among the projects benefiting seniors in the 18 B.C. communities receiving a total of $342,430 in age-friendly community planning and project grants this year.

A $20,000 age-friendly grant has been provided to three North Shore municipalities to support the creation of a dementia-friendly action plan.

The Province is investing $500 million over the next four years as part of a Ministry of Health action plan to improve care for seniors across the system, including increasing direct-care hours for seniors in residential care.

Improving continuity of care for inmates as they move between correctional centres and the community will be a key goal as the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) assumes responsibility for the delivery of medical services at B.C.’s 10 provincial correctional centres on Oct. 1, 2017.