Ministry of Health (British Columbia)
Encyclopedia
The Ministry of Health is a provincial government department responsible for British Columbia
'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 (2007/08) is about $13 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
s and other health professionals. The ministry works with five regional health authorities (Fraser Health
, Interior Health
, Northern Health
, Vancouver Coastal Health
and Vancouver Island Health Authority
) and one province-wide health authority (the Provincial Health Services Authority
) which is responsible specialized health services.
The BC Ambulance Service
and the BC NurseLine telephone triage service are independent agents of the Emergency Health Services Commission which reports to government through the ministry.
The Provincial Health Officer is an independent officer with a focus on public and population health who reports to government through the ministry.
.
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. During the same period there were also two Ministers of State, one for Seniors
and another for Mental Health
and Addictions
.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
'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 (2007/08) is about $13 billion. The Ministry leads and manages health programs such as the Medical Services Plan
Medical Services Plan
The Medical Services Plan of British Columbia is the government-administered single-payer health insurance scheme in the Canadian province of British Columbia, operating under the auspices of the country's national Medicare program...
(physician services), PharmaCare (prescription drug coverage) for BC residents. The majority of direct health services are delivered through partnerships with health authorities, physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s and other health professionals. The ministry works with five regional health authorities (Fraser Health
Fraser Health
Fraser Health is one of six publicly funded health care Regions into which the Canadian province of British Columbia is divided. It has 22,000 employees and serves the region from Boston Bar in the Fraser Canyon all the way down the Fraser River Valley to the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby...
, Interior Health
Interior Health
Interior Health is the publicly funded healthcare provider in an area of the Canadian province of British Columbia.Interior Health was established as one of five geographically based health authorities in 2001 by the Government of British Columbia...
, Northern Health
Northern Health
Northern Health is the publicly-funded healthcare provider for a the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The area region includes the communities of:* Atlin* Burns Lake* Chetwynd* Dawson Creek* Fort Nelson* Fort St. James* Fort St...
, Vancouver Coastal Health
Vancouver Coastal Health
Vancouver Coastal Health is a regional health authority providing direct and contracted health services including primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care, home and community care, mental health services, population and preventive health and addictions services in part of Greater Vancouver...
and Vancouver Island Health Authority
Vancouver Island Health Authority
Vancouver Island Health Authority is the publicly-funded health care provider in an area in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The region includes the communities of:* Vancouver Island* Gulf Islands* Johnstone Strait* Central Coast...
) and one province-wide health authority (the Provincial Health Services Authority
Provincial Health Services Authority
Provincial Health Services Authority is a publicly funded health service provider in the province of British Columbia. Other health authorities in the province have a regional jurisdiction. PHSA is unique in Canada as the only health authority having a province-wide mandate for specialized health...
) which is responsible specialized health services.
The BC Ambulance Service
British Columbia Ambulance Service
The British Columbia Ambulance Service is the sole ambulance service and provider of pre-hospital emergency care in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It operates under the Emergency and Health Services Commission and the Provincial Health Services Authority, and is tasked with the...
and the BC NurseLine telephone triage service are independent agents of the Emergency Health Services Commission which reports to government through the ministry.
The Provincial Health Officer is an independent officer with a focus on public and population health who reports to government through the ministry.
Minister
As of March 2011, the Minister of Health is Mike de JongMike de Jong
Mike de Jong, Q.C. is a politician from British Columbia, Canada.-Politics and career:He was appointed Minister of Health Mike de Jong on March 14, 2011. He has previously held the post of Attorney General and Government House Leader, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and Minister of...
.
During the first term of the Gordon Campbell government, a separate Ministry of Health Planning was created (led by Sindi Hawkins
Sindi Hawkins
Satinder Kaur "Sindi" Hawkins, née Ahluwalia 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.-Career:...
) 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
Old age
Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
and another for Mental Health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
and Addictions
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
.