The B.C. Conservative Party has promised, a few days before election day, a cardiac catheterization lab inside a new patient tower at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

"The Conservative Party of British Columbia will be committing to putting a cath lab into the hospital here in Nanaimo as well as the expansion of the facility that needs to happen in the community," said party leader John Rustad at a press conference Wednesday, Oct. 16. "For too long I can say patients, whether it's for heart issue or any other sort of issue, have to travel the Malahat, down to Victoria for those sorts of issues."

His commitment followed a visit from the B.C. NDP leader David Eby earlier in the day at Nanaimo's Loudon Park, where Eby expanded on his party's promise earlier in the campaign for a patient tower at NRGH. 

"These are services desperately needed, services that are going to be very important for the area here and for the area right across this Island," Rustad said. "It will also help reduce the pressure for the services available on the south Island."

Rustad referenced Eby's visit, denying the B.C. NDP leader's accusation that the B.C. Conservative platform would cut health-care spending. The Conservative leader also objected to his party's platform of "publicly funded partnerships with non-governmental clinics" being compared to the American health-care system.

"Even when David Eby has talked about doing additional services he has always put them in Victoria," Rustad said. "Victoria is important too, but for the people north of the Malahat we need to make sure these services are here right away."

put the cost at $1.7-billion for the patient tower and $100 million for the cardiac cath lab.

According to Rustad, under a B.C. Conservative government, the new patient tower would increase capacity to 600 beds, function as a "state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment centre" and include a cardiac cath lab inside of it.

Donna Hais, chairperson of the Fair Care Alliance that the tower would need a minimum of 600 beds, and the alliance feels that waiting until a patient tower is ready, which would take eight to 10 years time, would be "too long" for a cath lab.

Rustad held a 'blue wave rally' at Nanaimo's Coast Bastion Hotel in the evening on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

Election day is Saturday, Oct. 19.