The Ministry of Health is a provincial government department responsible for the
Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
's health system, with a mandate to guide and enhance the province's health services to ensure British Columbians are supported in their efforts to maintain and improve their health.
Its annual budget for 2012–2013 was
$16.2 billion. The Ministry leads and manages health programs such as the
Medical Services Plan (physician services), PharmaCare (prescription drug coverage) for BC residents. The majority of direct health services are delivered through partnerships with health authorities,
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
s and other health professionals. The ministry works with five regional health authorities (
Fraser Health
The Fraser Health Authority (FHA) is one of five publicly funded health authorities into which the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is divided. It is governed by the provincial ''Health Authorities Ac ...
,
Interior Health,
Island Health
Island Health, also known as the Vancouver Island Health Authority, is the publicly funded health care provider in the southwestern portion of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was established as one of five geographically based healt ...
,
Northern Health and
Vancouver Coastal Health
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is a regional health authority that provides health services including primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care, home and community care, mental health services, population and preventive health and addictio ...
) and one province-wide health authority (the
Provincial Health Services Authority), which is responsible for specialized health services.
The provincial health officer is an independent officer with a focus on public and population health who reports to government through the ministry.
Since June 18, 2017, the current Minister of Health is
Adrian Dix
Adrian Dix (born April 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician serving as the current Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia. In addition to serving as the current Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) ...
.
History
On February 21, 1946, the government announced plans to establish a separate department for health; until then, health policy had been the purview of the Provincial Secretary. The Department of Health and Welfare was formally established on October 1, 1946, with
George Pearson as the inaugural minister.
During the first term of the
Gordon Campbell government, a separate Ministry of Health Planning was created (led by
Sindi Hawkins
Satinder Kaur "Sindi" Hawkins (née Ahluwalia) (September 15, 1958 – September 21, 2010) was a Canadian politician, who was the British Columbia Liberal Party MLA for Okanagan West from 1996 to 2001 and Kelowna-Mission from 2001 to 2009.
Car ...
) but that ministry was later merged back into the main ministry. During the same period, there were also two ministers of State: one for seniors and another for mental health and addictions.
List of ministers
Health activities
On April 30, 2020, the Ministry published guidance alongside the
BC Centre for Disease Control
The BC Centre for Disease Control is the public health arm for British Columbia's Provincial Health Services Authority.
It is located at 655 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC. The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) provides provincial and nati ...
on interpreting the results of
polymerase chain reaction
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to rapidly make millions to billions of copies (complete or partial) of a specific DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it (or a part of it) t ...
(PCR) tests for detection of
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...
, the virus that causes
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
See also
*
E-Comm
E-Comm 9-1-1 is a multi-municipality agency that provides emergency communications operations for British Columbia. The company coordinates 9-1-1 service for police, fire, and ambulance service, providing call-taking and dispatch services for mul ...
, 9-1-1 call and dispatch centre for Southwestern BC
*
HealthLink BC
HealthLinkBC is a government-funded telehealth service launched in 2001, which provides non-emergency health information to the residents of British Columbia, Canada through combined telephone, internet, mobile app, and print resources. HealthL ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Health (British Columbia)
British Columbia government departments and agencies
Medical and health organizations based in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...