The MLA for Kamloops South Thompson says a top priority for him this year will be pushing the NDP government to carry out its promise of creating a Cancer Care Centre in Kamloops.
Opposition House Leader Todd Stone says former Premier John Horgan promised the Kamloops Cancer Centre back in 2020, though that has since been pushed back.
Stone says Horgan, Premier David Eby, and Health Minister Adrian Dix say it’s part of the 10-year plan now.
“The catch is nobody can see the 10-year plan. I’ll tell you, if you’re not in that first sort of three-year window of a 10-year plan, meaning capital dollars allocated, there is no plan.”
He says both himself and Kamloops MLA Peter Milobar have found it very difficult to get answers about the status of the project.
“When we talk to folks at the hospital district to Kamloops or local healthcare professionals involved in cancer services in Kamloops, nobody has a clue as to where this center is going to do it be built or if it’s ever going to be built,” said Stone. “No one has seen the plan, no funding has been allocated. We’ve confirmed it’s not in the capital plan. It hasn’t gone nothing’s gone to Treasury Board.”
Stone stresses there is a need for cancer care in the province, noting BC has among the worst wait times for cancer services in the country.
“We used to be number one or number two in the country, year after year, we’re now number nine or 10 in the country for how long it takes to access the cancer care you need,” said Stone. “Only one in five patients referred to an oncologist received that first and very critical consultation within a recommended period of two weeks.”
While Stone says there is a certain level of cancer care provided at Royal Inland Hospital, he says there aren’t enough specialized cancer services available in Kamloops. For example, Stone says patients are forced to travel to Kelowna for radiation treatment.
“At the Cancer Center in Kelowna, fully, two of those machines are used by people from Kamloops in the surrounding area around Kamloops every single day.”
He suggests the next “logical step” be to have those two radiation treatment machines based in Kamloops.
“Interestingly enough, those machines in Kelowna are coming up towards the end of their useful life. So they need to be replaced anyway and we’re saying, well, let’s ensure two of them are in Kamloops as part of that renewal process.”
Stone says both himself and Milobar will continue to work with each person, organization, and elected official in and around Kamloops to push the province to carry out its promise for a cancer centre in Kamloops.
“Saying to the provincial NDP government, ‘enough is enough, it’s time to fully commit to this cancer center, fund it, get the planning well underway, be transparent about all of that with everybody concerned, not the least of which the public, and fulfill the commitment that is long overdue for the people who live in this beautiful city of ours.'”