PENTICTON – A re-elected BC NDP government will bring a second Urgent and Primary Care Centre to Penticton, helping people access timely medical care closer to home.

“Penticton’s first Urgent and Primary Care Centre has helped expand access to health care in our community, and a second centre would build on that progress,” said Tina Lee, BC NDP candidate for Penticton-Summerland. “This means more people can get timely care close to home, while helping take pressure off our hospital emergency department.”

Urgent and Primary Care Centres give people another option for timely treatment when they have an illness or injury that isn’t life-threatening, from infections and sprains to cuts that need stitches. By providing care outside hospital emergency departments, they help patients get the treatment they need while easing pressure on hospitals.

The BC NDP has expanded access to care across the province, opening 48 Urgent and Primary Care Centres and completing or advancing 24 new and expanded hospitals. British Columbia has the most doctors per person of any province and more than one million people have been connected to a family doctor.

The Conservative Party’s plan to aggressively reduce the deficit puts these investments at risk. Their fiscal plan has a $5 billion gap and they have said healthcare would “take the brunt” of their cuts.