KAMLOOPS—After 16 years of ignoring health care services in Kamloops, Christy Clark can’t be trusted when she promises to change just before an election, says B.C. New Democrat Leader John Horgan.

Horgan said a New Democrat government will build the new patient care tower at Royal Inland Hospital, and blasted the Christy Clark government for ignoring the health care needs of people in Kamloops until it threatened to become an election issue.

“Today we see the Christy Clark government spending money to re-announce a hospital plan that’s been in the works since 2015, while Kamloops patients are waiting for hours in walk-in clinics and vulnerable seniors in understaffed care homes are not getting the attention they need,” Horgan said.

“Christy Clark only seems to care about health care in Kamloops when it impacts her re-election. Meanwhile, 30,000 people in Kamloops don’t have a family doctor and seniors in care homes are waiting too long for care.

“In Kamloops, we know that one in three people don’t have a family doctor. This is an embarrassment to the health minister in his own riding,” Horgan said. “And we know that seniors in Kamloops are not getting the support they need either; all eight residential care homes that receive public funds fall short on minimum staffing levels.”

“We support Phase Two at Royal Inland, and we also need to put a stop to this government’s understaffing.

“Instead of hiring more doctors and staff to shorten wait times in the Interior, Christy Clark gave a billion dollar tax cut to her rich friends in downtown Vancouver. And now at election time, she wants us to believe she cares about fixing the health care challenges people in Kamloops have been facing for years.”

“As Premier, I’ll be working for regular British Columbians instead of the people at the top, and that starts with cancelling Christy Clark’s tax cut for the rich and making real improvements to health care services in Kamloops.”