The BC Liberal government has begun the search for a corporate partner for a major P3 hospital project in Abbotsford, despite mounting evidence that it will be a costly mistake.
“This proposed private hospital will go down in history as Gordon Campbell’s fast ferry,” says HEU spokesperson Chris Allnutt. “But it will be BC taxpayers and Fraser Valley residents that will live with the consequences for decades to come.”
The P3 hospital is proceeding despite a government study released last year that showed a P3 model would produce marginal savings at best.
Research in the United Kingdom where P3 hospitals have been built for the last ten years shows that profit taking by private investors has resulted in decreases in hospital beds and clinical staff budgets, service reductions and a loss of public accountability.
Polling for HEU shows BC residents share the union’s concerns. Seventy-one per cent of respondents don’t think the marginal savings projected in the government’s study justify proceeding with privatizing a major hospital.
“This proposed private hospital will go down in history as Gordon Campbell’s fast ferry,” says HEU spokesperson Chris Allnutt. “But it will be BC taxpayers and Fraser Valley residents that will live with the consequences for decades to come.”
The P3 hospital is proceeding despite a government study released last year that showed a P3 model would produce marginal savings at best.
Research in the United Kingdom where P3 hospitals have been built for the last ten years shows that profit taking by private investors has resulted in decreases in hospital beds and clinical staff budgets, service reductions and a loss of public accountability.
Polling for HEU shows BC residents share the union’s concerns. Seventy-one per cent of respondents don’t think the marginal savings projected in the government’s study justify proceeding with privatizing a major hospital.