Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons has been hearing a lot of questions and concerns in the wake of Vancouver Coastal Health’s (VCH) announcement that it will close Shorncliffe and Totem Lodge and contract out long-term care to a new privately run facility in 2018.
Simons said he has invited officials from VCH, Trellis Group (the private company behind the new Silverstone Care Centre), the BC Care Providers Association, the BC Nurses Union, and others to a town hall meeting later this month.
“The purpose is to allow the community to hear directly from the people responsible who made the decision, and to be reassured, if that’s in fact what people are asking for, that the decision was made in the best interests of our community,” he said. “It will also be a chance for people to talk in general about the level of care they’ve seen provided and give some feedback to the decision-makers about that.”
The concerns Simons has been hearing include level of care, staffing ratios, standards of care, the adequacy of the number of beds, the cost, and privatization of health services. “I expect it to be an interesting and lively discussion and I hope it’s a productive one,” he said.
The town hall will take place June 29 at the Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre from 7 to 9 p.m.
