Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, has issued the following statement in recognition of Allied Health Professionals Day, Oct. 14, 2023:

“On Allied Health Professionals Day, we celebrate the unique contributions of our allied health workforce. These dedicated individuals play a critical role in ensuring people in B.C have access to comprehensive, reliable and quality care to support their health and well-being, and are trusted members of health-care teams across the province.

“British Columbia’s allied health workforce is the second-largest health workforce in the province and includes over 70 disciplines and approximately 75,000 individuals who provide a range of preventive, diagnostic, technical and therapeutic health care, and clinical support services across the lifespan and continuum of care. They work in public, private and contracted services in a variety of settings, including hospitals, long-term-care and assisted-living facilities, primary-care networks, schools, post-secondary institutions, community agencies, correctional centres, government, and private clinics and businesses. The specialized expertise, education, research and leadership they offer help improve patients' health outcomes.

“Their unwavering commitment to person-centred, specialized care and their ability to work as integral members of a collaborative health-care team are cause for appreciation and respect.

“The care and services that allied health professionals provide are important to the health and well-being of people in B.C. That’s why we’re continuing to invest in growing the allied health workforce through up to 322 new training seats for allied health professionals at public post-secondary institutions throughout B.C. and offering bursaries for internationally educated allied health professionals to join B.C.’s workforce. These supports will help recruit and train more allied health professionals, ultimately increasing the number of providers that people in B.C. have access to for their health-care needs.

“This work is part of B.C.’s Health Human Resources Strategy, launched in September 2022 to help people get the health services they need from a healthy, robust and well-supported workforce. As part of this strategy, we continue to take actions to bolster the workforce, including allied health professionals, to recruit, train and retain health-care workers, while redesigning the health-care system to foster workplace satisfaction and innovation. 

“On behalf of the provincial government, I express my sincere gratitude to each and every one of the allied health professionals for their dedication and commitment to providing safe and high-quality health care to the people and communities of British Columbia. Thank you.”

Learn more:

To learn about B.C.’s Health Human Resources Strategy, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0059-001464