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British Columbia Ministry of Health
Ministry overview
Jurisdiction British Columbia
Headquarters Victoria, British Columbia
Minister responsible
Ministry executives
Website Official website Edit this at Wikidata

The Ministry of Health is a department of the Government of British Columbia which oversees the provincial healthcare system. It manages services including the Medical Services Plan, HealthLinkBC, and the PharmaCare program. [1]

The majority of health services are delivered through partnerships with health authorities, physicians and other health professionals. The ministry works with five regional health authorities ( Fraser Health, Interior Health, Island Health, Northern Health and Vancouver Coastal Health) and one province-wide health authority (the Provincial Health Services Authority), which is responsible for specialized health services. [2] It also supports the role of the Provincial Health Officer, whose office is housed within the ministry. [3]

Adrian Dix has been Minister of Health since June 18, 2017. [4]

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. [5] The Department of Health and Welfare was formally established on October 1, 1946, with George Pearson as the inaugural minister. [6]

During the first term of the Gordon Campbell government, a separate Ministry of Health Planning was created (led by Sindi Hawkins) but that ministry was later merged back into the main ministry. [7] During the same period, there were also two ministers of state: one for seniors and another for mental health and addictions. [8]

Under John Horgan, a separate Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions was established. [9]

COVID-19

On April 30, 2020, the Ministry published guidance alongside the BC Centre for Disease Control on interpreting the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. [10]

On October 19, 2022, Minister Adrian Dix introduced legislation to replace the Health Professions Act, the provincial law governing British Columbia's regulatory colleges, with the Health Professions and Occupations Act. [11] A primary function of the act is to amalgamate the colleges from 15 down to 6, under the authority of a new oversight body. [12] In July 2023, Minister Dix appointed Allan Seckel to oversee the amalgamation process. [13] Preparations for the amalgamation are required to be complete by June 28, 2024, the designated date on which the amalgamation will officially occur. [14] [13]

List of ministers

List of ministers
Minister Term start Term end Political party Premier
Minister of Health and Welfare
George Sharratt Pearson October 1, 1946 December 29, 1947 █  Liberal Hart
December 29, 1947 May 3, 1950 Johnson
Alexander Douglas Turnbull May 3, 1950 August 1, 1952 █  Liberal
Eric Martin August 1, 1952 March 20, 1959 █  Social Credit W. A. C. Bennett
Minister of Health Services and Hospital Insurance
Eric Martin March 20, 1959 December 12, 1966 █  Social Credit W. A. C. Bennett
Wesley Black December 12, 1966 May 24, 1968 █  Social Credit
Ralph Loffmark May 24, 1968 September 15, 1972 █  Social Credit
Dennis Cocke September 15, 1972 November 7, 1973 █  New Democratic Barrett
Minister of Health
Dennis Cocke November 7, 1973 December 22, 1975 █  New Democratic Barrett
Robert McClelland December 22, 1975 November 24, 1979 █  Social Credit B. Bennett
Rafe Mair November 24, 1979 January 6, 1981 █  Social Credit
Jim Nielsen January 6, 1981 February 11, 1986 █  Social Credit
Stephen Rogers February 11, 1986 April 3, 1986 █  Social Credit
Jim Nielsen April 3, 1986 August 6, 1986 █  Social Credit
August 6, 1986 November 6, 1986 Vander Zalm
Peter Dueck November 6, 1986 November 1, 1989 █  Social Credit
John Jansen November 1, 1989 April 2, 1991 █  Social Credit
April 2, 1991 May 7, 1991 Johnston
Bruce Strachan May 7, 1991 November 5, 1991 █  Social Credit
Elizabeth Cull November 5, 1991 September 15, 1993 █  New Democratic Harcourt
Paul Ramsey September 15, 1993 February 28, 1996 █  New Democratic
Andrew Petter February 28, 1996 June 17, 1996 █  New Democratic G. Clark
Joy MacPhail June 17, 1996 February 18, 1998 █  New Democratic
Penny Priddy February 18, 1998 August 25, 1999 █  New Democratic
August 25, 1999 February 24, 2000 Miller
Mike Farnworth February 29, 2000 November 1, 2000 █  New Democratic Dosanjh
Corky Evans November 1, 2000 June 5, 2001 █  New Democratic
Minister of Health Services
Colin Hansen June 5, 2001 December 15, 2004 █  Liberal Campbell
Shirley Bond December 15, 2004 June 16, 2005 █  Liberal
Minister of Health
George Abbott June 16, 2005 June 23, 2008 █  Liberal Campbell
Minister of Health Services
George Abbott June 23, 2008 June 10, 2009 █  Liberal Campbell
Kevin Falcon June 10, 2009 November 30, 2010 █  Liberal
Colin Hansen November 30, 2010 March 14, 2011 █  Liberal
Minister of Health
Mike de Jong March 14, 2011 September 5, 2012 █  Liberal C. Clark
Margaret MacDiarmid September 5, 2012 June 10, 2013 █  Liberal
Terry Lake June 10, 2013 June 12, 2017 █  Liberal
Mary Polak June 12, 2017 July 18, 2017 █  Liberal
Adrian Dix July 18, 2017 November 18, 2022 █  New Democratic Horgan
November 18, 2022 Incumbent Eby

See also

  • E-Comm, 9-1-1 call and dispatch centre for Southwestern BC

References

  1. ^ "Ministry of Health - Province of British Columbia". www2.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  2. ^ "Health Authorities - Province of British Columbia". www2.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  3. ^ "Office of the Provincial Health Officer - Province of British Columbia". www2.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  4. ^ "BC NDP takes power: The big issues and the people John Horgan has appointed to handle them". Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  5. ^ "Gov't Welfare Program laid Before MLA's". Vancouver Sun. 1946-02-21. pp. A1.
  6. ^ "Charles Banks Becomes B.C.'s Lieut.-Governor". The Province. 1946-10-01. pp. A1. Immediately after taking office, His Honor officiated at the swearing-in of Provincial Secretary George Pearson as minister of health and welfare, a post created by the lesgislation passed at the 1946 session.
  7. ^ Meissner, Dirk (January 26, 2004). "Campbell shuffles cabinet". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  8. ^ McInnes, Craig (2001-06-05). "27-member cabinet biggest in B.C. history". Vancouver Sun. pp. A1, A5.
  9. ^ Palmer, Vaughn (2017-07-18). "Darcy leads difficult job list in Horgan's tough cabinet". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  10. ^ "Interpreting the results of Nucleic Acid Amplification testing (NAT; or PCR tests) for COVID-19 in the Respiratory Tract" (PDF). BC Centre for Disease Control. 2020-04-30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  11. ^ "Provincial government introduces new legislation to replace the Health Professions Act". British Columbia College of Nurses & Midwives. 2022-11-25. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05.
  12. ^ "Patients the focus of new health legislation | BC Gov News". Government of British Columbia. 2022-10-19. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  13. ^ a b "BC Health Regulatory College Amalgamation | Summer 2023 Update". College of Psychologists of British Columbia. 2023-09-27. Archived from the original on 2024-01-17. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  14. ^ "Update on Amalgamation". College of Physical Therapists of British Columbia. 2023-09-21. Archived from the original on 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2023-10-05.

External links

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