Protect Public Health Care - Sunshine Coast staged its first demonstration against Vancouver Coastal Health’s (VCH) plans for long-term care, Oct. 29 at Sechelt Hospital.
The recently-formed group, made up of members of Council of Senior Citizen Organization, Sunshine Coast Labour Council, Alliance for Democracy, BC Nurses Union, and Health Employees Union, is vowing to block VCH’s closure of Shorncliffe and Totem Lodge in 2018.
The health authority has entered into a deal with Trellis Seniors Services to build and operate a facility in Sechelt.
Robert Hood, president of the Labour Council, said he hasn’t seen much support for the VCH plan. “Everybody knows that they [Trellis] have to make money, and it’s coming from our tax dollars – that’s what’s firing a lot of people up … we don’t want for-profit organizations taking our tax money.”
“I really believe that Shorncliffe and Totem should not be privatized … it’s not fair to the community,” said demonstrator Mary Rennie, a care aide at Shorncliffe. “Vancouver Coastal Health [needs] to sit up and take notice that our community is not going to stand for this.”
Since forming in late September, Protect Public Health Care - Sunshine Coast has set up a Facebook page, and it recently launched the website www.pphcare.ca
