HSA Welcomes Investment in Health Professional Recruitment and Retention

Health Sciences Association, the union representing over 20,000 specialized health and community social service professionals in communities across BC, today welcomed new investments to rebuild a health care workforce depleted by three years of pandemic workload.

“A crisis of serious proportions demands a serious response,” said Kane Tse, HSA President. “Today’s announcement of $995 million to support the provincial health workforce strategy will help turn around a health care system struggling with unprecedented rates of burnout, sick leave and retirement.”

“I hear every day from laboratory technologists, radiation therapists, physiotherapists, respiratory therapists and dozens of other specialized professionals who deliver the care people count on in BC. They’re working past the point of exhaustion, carrying on to help their colleagues and because they know how much patients are counting on them. They can’t hold up much longer.”

“This investment, building on the BC government’s earlier commitments to fund more training seats, and a negotiated collective agreement that provides the first proper pay increase in almost two decades, will help turn things around.”

The HSA looks forward to working with the BC government to ensure the new money is used to address the most critical shortages of health science professionals in the province.