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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Nov. 10, 2008
 
B.C. Liberals ignore bed shortage and family outrage
 
SURREY – The announcement that 71 seniors’ care beds in Surrey will be closed is more evidence that the Campbell government is short-sighted and out of touch when it comes to seniors’ care, New Democrat seniors’ critic Guy Gentner said today.
 
“The Campbell government just never learns,” said Gentner. “Without any consultation, the government has announced that 71 residents of Zion Park Manor in Cloverdale will be relocated because the beds are being shut down.”
 
Gentner pointed to a recent report by the Auditor General that questions the competence of the Campbell government in terms of planning and determining demand for seniors care. “We know that the seniors’ population is growing rapidly, so why is the Campbell government closing long-term care beds?” said Gentner.
 
“It just doesn’t make sense,” said Gentner. “Not only is the Campbell government causing unnecessary chaos for residents and families, but they are adding to the current bed crisis in the region.”
 
Family members and residents at Zion Park Manor learned last week that the Campbell government is closing 71 of the 147 beds at the long-term care facility. According to the Fraser Health Authority, the older wing of the building does not meet current standards, and will be shut down.
 
New Democrat health critic Adrian Dix said the government is now claiming that the beds at Zion Park will only be closed as people choose to leave the facility. “But that doesn’t change the fact that these beds are closing. It is reckless for the Campbell government to close beds when they have failed to build the 5,000 long-term care beds promised.”
 
Dix noted that according to the health minister, seniors now make up 14 per cent of B.C.'s population, up from 8 per cent a decade ago, and will be 25 per cent of B.C.'s population by 2025. “With the population exploding why is the Campbell government closing beds?” asked Dix.
 
“The reality is that there is a bed crisis – a crisis that affects real people and their families,” said Dix. “Closing long-term care beds is irresponsible and shows a lack of respect for the seniors and their families whose lives are deeply impact by this government’s actions.”