Highlights of the Year
In 2005/06, the Ministry of Health invested over $11.4 billion to meet the health needs of British Columbians. This investment was made across a wide spectrum of programs and services aligned with the Ministry's goals to improve health and wellness, deliver high quality patient care, and make the publicly funded health system sustainable over the long term. Following are some of the achievements of the Ministry of Health in 2005/06.
Improving the Health and Wellness of British Columbians
- Invested in ActNow BC initiatives to support healthy living and physical fitness in British Columbia. In 2005/06, initiatives included:
- A $30 million investment in health promotion through partnerships with the BC Healthy Living Alliance and 2010 Legacies Now.
- $4.2 million to provide communities throughout B.C. with information, resources and support to encourage healthy lifestyles.
- A School Fruit and Vegetable Program which provides one serving of B.C. grown fruits or vegetables to children twice a week at ten elementary schools.
- Continued strategies to reduce tobacco use across British Columbia. In September 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously in favour of B.C.'s effort to hold the tobacco industry to account for practices that have compromised the health of British Columbians. In early 2006 changes were made to the Tobacco Sales Act to improve compliance and make it even more difficult for youth to access tobacco products.
- Updated the BC HealthGuide handbook and made it available at pharmacies and government agent offices across the province, as part of government's wellness strategy to improve health care advice and information. The updated handbook includes new and medically reviewed information as well as expanded health tips for seniors.
- Released a new edition of Baby's Best Chance, an easy-to-read resource to assist parents from pregnancy through birth, and in the parenting of a baby up to six months of age.
- Introduced a new $73 million program to provide hearing screening, sight testing and dental checks for children before the age of six.
- Promoted breast cancer detection through support for an awareness campaign designed to increase the number of women having mammography screenings. The Province's $1 million investment provided support to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation B.C./Yukon chapter to fund its GO HAVE ONE campaign.
- Introduced an innovative CPR training program in 20 high schools throughout British Columbia. Close to 125 high school teachers learned vital CPR skills from B.C. paramedics — knowledge the teachers were able to pass on to nearly 6,000 grade 10 students.
- Increased the number of flu vaccines ordered by 10 per cent (1.28 million doses) to protect the most vulnerable British Columbians during flu season.
Providing High Quality, Patient Centred Care
- Took action to reduce wait times for hip and knee surgeries while building long term capacity in the health care system that will maximize the number of surgeries through a $60.5 million wait time management strategy. The strategy included: funding to immediately address existing backlogs; a new Centre for Surgical Innovation at UBC Hospital; a Provincial Surgical Patient Registry; and a Research Centre for Hip Health at Vancouver General Hospital.
- Increased surgeries at B.C. Children's Hospital. The Province's only specialized pediatric facility implemented innovative measures that will add 1,000 elective pediatric surgeries a year, further reducing wait times and improving timely access to surgery for patients.
- Invested $1.3 million in the University of Northern British Columbia to assist Northern Health in reducing the incidence of cancer and improving survival rates for northern residents.
- Opened the Province's first publicly funded PET/CT scanner, which advances cancer care and treatment for B.C. citizens. The PET (positron emission tomography) system is a non invasive, whole-body imaging technique. When combined with computed tomography (CT), it allows physicians to more accurately diagnose and manage disease, particularly cancer.
- Provided access to a breakthrough therapy for breast cancer patients. The Ministry, in partnership with the Provincial Health Services Authority and the BC Cancer Agency, provided an $8 million funding commitment for Herceptin. In clinical trials, patients treated with Herceptin after completing chemotherapy had their rate of cancer recurrence reduced by more than half, and had improved survival rates. B.C. was the first province to approve and cover the cost of the drug for all eligible breast cancer patients.
- Enhanced maternity care support and access to health care for rural women through a $3.1 million investment.
- Provided $3.5 million to expand diagnostic and assessment services for children with special needs, including those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
- Added new drugs for PharmaCare coverage that will help patients with diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma, migraines and high blood pressure. The BC PharmaCare program is one of the most comprehensive publicly funded drug benefit programs in the country. Decisions about drug coverage are based on compelling scientific evidence that clearly shows a medication is safe, cost-effective and improves patient outcomes.
- Targeted $7 million in additional funding and new initiatives to continue the fight against crystal meth, including new money for communities to fight the drug at the local level, a public awareness campaign, and the expansion of treatment across the province.
- Began construction on more than 25 facilities for seniors and persons with disabilities. These included new assisted living units, residential care units and beds, hospices and campuses of care.
A Sustainable, Affordable, Publicly Funded Health System
- Created a stronger, better relationship with labour. In late 2005/06 the Province reached agreements with all the health sector bargaining associations as well as the British Columbia Medical Association. In addition to the collective bargaining process, government and association representatives held a series of policy discussions which have strengthened cooperation and ensured the labour agreements reflect the current concerns and interests of all parties. These joint policy tables will continue to meet and work together throughout the duration of the negotiated agreements.
- Continued to expand education opportunities for doctors, nurses and other health professionals to ensure there are enough health workers to meet British Columbians' needs. In 2005/06 the Ministry also expanded residency positions for foreign-trained physicians, and introduced measures through the Provincial Nominee program to expedite immigration processes for foreign health professionals.
- Graduated the first class of Nurse Practitioners in British Columbia in May 2005. Nurse Practitioners are Registered Nurses with advanced education and skills, and will be an important resource in delivering care to British Columbians.
- Invested in new and improved health facilities across the Province, including helping address emergency department congestion at Surrey Memorial Hospital by adding a minor treatment unit adjacent to the emergency room ($4.8 million); redeveloping and expanding surgical capacity at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital ($23 million); upgrading emergency and intensive care services at the Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace ($1.9 million); building a new 44-bed tertiary mental health facility located on the grounds of the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops ($17 million); and expanding the mental health program by 15 beds at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver ($4.2 million).
- Launched a major eHealth initiative to modernize health system information technology and help health professionals deliver better, faster and safer care. Through a partnership with Canada Health Infoway, up to $150 million will be invested in eHealth initiatives between 2005/06 and 2008/09.
- Invested in priority areas of research to improve population health and the delivery of health services. Investments include:
- $10 million in funding to help establish three new research chairs and a new Institute of Mental Health at UBC.
- $2 million through the Women's Health Research Institute at BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre to fund investigation into health issues unique to women.
- $6.1 million to open the Centre for Blood Research at UBC.
- $100 million to the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research to support B.C.'s best and brightest health researchers.
- Improved Medical Service Plan and PharmaCare registration and billing services through a service agreement with Health Insurance BC. By the end of 2005, service levels were among the best on record.
Recognition as Leaders in Health Service Delivery
British Columbia has recently been recognized as a leader in health service delivery in Canada. The Ministry is pleased to receive this positive acknowledgement of the B.C. health system, and is particularly proud the recognition has been for work spanning the continuum of health services. This indicates we are doing well in achieving our vision of a health system that supports people across their life spans.
Recent acknowledgements of B.C.'s health system include:
- Healthy Provinces, Healthy Canadians: A Provincial Benchmarking Report released by the Conference Board of Canada that rated British Columbia as having the top ranked health system in the country. The report compared and evaluated the performance of provincial health care systems in Canada based on 70 comparable health indicators.
- The Cancer Advocacy Coalition, an independent Toronto-based cancer advocacy group, noted in its annual evaluation of cancer system performance that B.C. has the best cancer outcomes and lowest cancer mortality in Canada. The report found B.C. has the best-funded and most timely access to cancer drugs within a strong, well-organized, population-based cancer control program coordinated by the BC Cancer Agency.
- The Public Health Association of Canada awarded British Columbia the Ron Draper Health Promotion award for the Province's ActNow BC initiative. The Ron Draper award is given for making a significant contribution to health promotion by working in the community to build healthy public policy, create environments that support health, enable community action, enhance personal skills, and/or re-orient health services.
- The New Health Professionals Network, a national organization representing over 25,000 health students, interns and residents, recognized British Columbia with a Celebration of Medicare award for an innovative palliative care service. The award was presented for the Fraser Health Authority and BC NurseLine's new program that provides 24 hour phone access to specialized palliative care nurses to provide advice to anyone caring for a terminally ill person.
