VMDAS/VPSA board and staff meet regularly with VCH senior leaders to develop a collaborative relationship between medical staff and the health authority. The March meeting included an update from VCH President and CEO Vivian Eliopoulos on the provincial government’s expectations of health authorities over the next few years, as well as discussion about how to align VMDAS’s work with that being done in VA and VC. The meeting also touched on the creation of a local VPSA EDI committee, ways to include credentialed medical providers in the VMDAS awards, and information on VCH redevelopment plans.

2025/26 mandate letter update

The provincial government sets mandates for each ministry every two to three years; these provide overarching direction. The Ministry of Health has been given its strategic direction from the premier and will, in turn, soon develop mandates for each health authority.

While we are yet to receive that level of detail, President Eliopoulos was able to give meeting participants an overview of the strategic direction given to the Ministry of Health. Community services along with mental health and substance use services continue to be priorities for government and the lion’s share of additional funding is being allocated there.

President Eliopoulos summarized four themes in the new MoH mandate letter:

1. Access: Ensure access to family doctors and that every British Columbian can access the care they need, no matter where they live.
2. Key strategic priorities: Focus on primary care, maternity, reproductive and gynecological care, cancer care, mental health and addictions services, seniors’ care, and emergency room closures.
3. Administration costs: Reduce the cost of administration of the health-care system to focus resources on the frontline, including a review of regional health authorities.
4. Health human resources: Tackle the training, recruitment, retention and system redesign needed to make sure our health human resources keep pace with the growing needs of people in BC.

The mandate letter also includes these principles and expectations:

1. Commitment to take action on climate change.
2. Partnership with Indigenous peoples and advancing reconciliation.
3. Deliver accessible, effective care in unique rural and remote communities.

There are several new expectations for the coming fiscal year that are key strategic priorities:

1. Primary care: Ensure that care can be delivered in person through standards established in consultation with the College of Physicians and Surgeons and Doctors of BC.
2. Maternity, reproductive and gynecological care: Improve the delivery of maternity care, reproductive care, and gynecological cancer care for people across the province through target initiatives.
3. Cancer care: Improve cancer care delivery across the province to meet international benchmarks for outcomes and service delivery.
4. Mental health and addictions services:
   1. Support the work of the chief scientific advisor for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders in delivering high-quality care with partners across government to implement solutions.
   2. Bring together addiction health professionals and epidemiologists to expand peer-reviewed research to evaluate interventions for people struggling with addiction, promptly implement best practices based on findings.
   3. Reduce the risk of diversion of prescribed opioids by taking action in these areas and any others identified:
      1. Identifying and implementing additional safeguards to prevent diversion of opioids prescribed for opioid dependence.
      2. Working with all health-care providers to find ways to reduce the population level frequency of opioid prescriptions generally.
   4. Review prescribing safety initiatives for psychoactive medications in order to enhance patient and public safety and reduce health-care costs.
   5. Continue to expand access to nasal naloxone to respond to overdoses.
   6. Work with the cabinet committee on community safety to ensure that initiatives identified by the committee are prioritized and delivered by your ministry as required.
5. Seniors’ care: Improve the delivery of care for seniors and steward public investments made in seniors’ care to improve efficiency and effectiveness given the growing population of seniors in our province.
6. Hospitals: Take necessary steps to address temporary emergency room closures.

On this last point, President Eliopoulos was adamant that all VCH emergency services will remain open 24/7. She also offered to meet again to discuss VCH’s mandate letter once it has been received.

There are many opportunities for VCH and VMDAS/VPSA to collaborate on reaching goals outlined in these mandate letters. VPSA is already working with VCH on many Indigenous cultural safety and planetary health initiatives as well as working to improve the experience of patients with substance use disorders as well as their medical providers. VPSA is also now offering funding for recruitment and retention. All present at the meeting agreed that we are stronger when we collaborate.

VPSA Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee

VPSA has been funding a regional EDI committee for several years. It is now planning to establish a local EDI committee. Potential areas for this committee to consider would be informed by the VA and VC results  of the recently concluded 2024 Physician Wellness Survey.

VPSA Project Manager Annapurna Chavali invited meeting members to make suggestions about EDI initiatives the new committee could consider to address gaps at the local level. These could be concerns that are unique to our community of care. VPSA has yet to set the committee’s mandate or to recruit members, so this is an opportunity for VCH leaders to have input.

Meeting attendees were asked to bring their ideas to the next meeting.

Including CMPs in VMDAS awards

Our community credentialed medical providers no longer pay medical staff dues and, as such, are no longer members of VMDAS. This was a move by the health authority to streamline bureaucracy and was never intended to stop CMPs from participating in engagement opportunities.

One of the unintended consequences is that our VC colleagues no longer qualify for consideration for VMDAS’s annual awards. VMDAS is keen to find a solution that includes CMPs. As no VC representatives were able to attend this meeting, VMDAS President Ka Wai Cheung will reach out to them for suggestions and then report back at an upcoming meeting.

Redevelopment plans

VA is in the very early stages of planning for campus redevelopment at VGH. The Ministry of Health has yet to confirm whether a proposal to build a tower on the old laundry site will receive funding. VCH has held initial meetings with the City of Vancouver regarding rezoning needs. VA VP Michelle de Moor offered to have VA’s chief clinical planning officer, Shelly Fleck, attend a meeting to discuss this further once there is more news to share.

VMDAS members have also been asking about plans for the Windermere Care Centre site, which was the subject of a Vancouver Sun article recently. This is an initiative of the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation. Its plan is to redevelop the long-term care facility and there may be an opportunity for VGH to lease some space for light ambulatory services. This is not an acute care redevelopment.

Next meeting

The group next meets on April 10. If you have an item you wish to be brought forward at these meetings, please contact VPSA Operations Director Andrew Pinfold.