VANCOUVER — The B.C. government is reconstituting the BC Emergency Health Services board of directors and increasing funding for ambulance service in the province after it faced intense criticism in the wake of the recent heat dome.
Health Minister Adrian Dix announced the changes during a news conference Wednesday, saying that improvements to the system are needed. “The events of the last few weeks make it clear that there’s more work to be done,” Dix said. “Let there be no doubt our emergency health service system must work better for the people who call upon it a The newly reconstituted board will “focus solely on ambulance services,” Dix said, adding it will be chaired by former Vancouver Police Department chief Jim Chu.
“The board will be directly accountable to me, with a clear mandate to ensure better service for patients and families who rely on the service, and better supports for workers who deliver the service,” the health minister said. Dix said he’s also ordering the creation of a chief ambulance officer to lead BCEHS, and appointing Leanne Heppell to the position on an interim basis. “Ms. Heppell’s role is to focus solely on ambulance services, working shoulder-to-shoulder with paramedics and dispatchers to deliver the best ambulance service in the world,” he said.
Heppell is a trained clinical nurse specialist, currently serving as chief operating officer for acute care and chief of professional practice and nursing at Providence Health Care, Dix said. nd for the people who answer the call.”…….
Source: bc.ctvnews.ca
Monday, April 20, 2026
