The Editor,
Re. “Riverview vision is linked to health announcement: BC Housing” (The Tri-City News, Jan. 7).
The plan to demolish the very viable Valleyview hospital building to build a new facility at the Riverview Hospital site should cause everyone to question the competence and motives of the B.C. Liberal government.
The staggering costs of high-tech acute care hospitals are unavoidable. This is not the case with mental health facilities.
The magnificent natural setting of Riverview is not an accident.
When Riverview was conceived more than 100 years ago, tapping into the therapeutic value of nature was part of the plan.
Over the subsequent century there have been many great advances in mental health care — none of which require new and expensive buildings.
With an aging population and constant pressure on healthcare budgets, how can the provincial government justify spending an astounding $10 million per net new bed at the Valleyview location?
It seems like Social Credit all over again. The SoCreds used to like to build hospitals a lot more than they liked to fund health care on an ongoing basis.
When hospitals get built, it generally means big contracts for companies that support the government.
May Lawson
Port Coquitlam
