British Columbians say public health care matters; will government listen?
-The government has heard, but the real test is whether they will listen to the thousands of British Columbians who said through the Conversation on Health that they value our public health care system," Leslie Dickout, Medicare campaigner for the B.C. Health Coalition said today in response to the release of the Conversation on Health summary report.
The key message delivered to government through the months-long conversation is that British Columbians believe in a strong and sustainable public health care system.
-British Columbians value public health care. They know there are challenges, but they also know there are proven, evidence-based public solutions. And they want their government to get to work and act on those solutions," Dickout said.
Dickout said the BC Health Coalition will be watching closely to see if governments actions in the coming months reflect the direction from British Columbians coming out of the Conversation.
-While government says theyve heard the concerns, only their actions will tell if theyre prepared to take their lead from the public.
-So far, their actions have spoken louder than their words. For example, while the conversation was still going on, the Ministry of Health continued on a course to increase involvement by the private sector in the public health care system," Dickout said.
The BC Health Coalition is a broad-based network of organizations and individuals who support public health care.