Eby promises new urgent care centre during North Delta campaign stop

A re-elected BC NDP government would add an urgent and primary care centre (UPCC) in North Delta, the party announced Monday, Oct. 12. Earlier that day, leader David Eby attended a campaign event at Sunbury Hall, where he announced and signed the party’s Public Health Care Guarantee and outlined new rules to strengthen public health care in B.C. A party release described the guarantee as a pledge to protect B.C. from an American-style, for-profit, pay-your-way health-care system.

The North Delta commitment came without details or a proposed timeline. The City of Delta, City of Surrey, Tsawwassen First Nation and other community partners have advocated for such a facility for the past couple of years. Todd Schierling, the BC NDP candidate in Delta North, said he was proud to support a plan that brings care closer to home. In a party release, he said UPCCs make it easier to get care for minor illnesses and injuries, easing pressure on hospital emergency departments. Schierling said his experience as a firefighter showed him how much it matters for people to get help when they need it; a new centre would give North Delta residents another place to seek urgent care and help emergency departments focus on the most serious cases.

The party said 48 UPCCs are already open across B.C. and have received more than five million visits collectively since the first opened in 2018. In December last year, the Ministry of Health opened an “after-hours” UPCC at 1826 – 4949 Canoe Pass Way in Tsawwassen First Nation, serving the First Nation and South Delta communities. It operates from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends and statutory holidays.

In a separate release issued Tuesday, Oct. 13, the party promised that a re-elected NDP government would work with municipal leaders in Surrey, who have offered city land to the province for a new health-care facility. Eby also committed to building three more UPCCs in Surrey, in addition to the four already open there.

Last week, while announcing the party’s health-care plan for seniors, Eby promised to proceed with public long-term care projects the NDP government had “re-paced” earlier this year. They include the new 200-bed Beedie Long-Term Care Centre, which would replace the 1977-built Mountain View Manor next to Delta Hospital. An Oct. 5 party release said funding secured through the BC-Canada Prosperity agreement, signed July 2, would allow the province to build more long-term care beds faster and for less money.

The release said the BC NDP would move ahead with seven long-term care projects paused earlier this year under a new model intended to lower per-bed costs, shorten construction timelines and support building beds at scale for the future. Those seven projects are in addition to 16 long-term care projects already completed, seven under construction and 15 in planning. The plan also promises more nurse practitioners, pharmacy services and virtual specialist consultations in long-term care homes to help residents avoid hospital trips, as well as more teams to support patients ready to leave hospital and return to community-based care. The NDP also plans to bring 5,000 care-home workers back into the public health employer system to support stable staffing, better continuity of care and fair pay.