The Canadian Government and the provincial government of British Columbia (BC) have entered a bilateral agreement, resulting in the province securing C$733m ($544.5m) in federal funding to support seniors' healthcare services. 

The agreement was signed between Canada Health Minister Mark Holland and its BC counterpart Adrian Dix.  

It aims to help seniors in the province by enhancing access to home and community care and LTC services over the next five years.  

Under the latest five-year plan, the state and provincial governments will expand home and community care services, improve palliative and end-of-life care and enhance the quality of LTC services. 

BC's action plan, supported by federal funding, will focus on strengthening care standards and oversight to meet the needs of seniors with complex conditions and reduce pressure on hospitals. 

Additionally, the plan includes increasing access to care for people outside hospital settings, improving dementia care, and connecting frail seniors to outreach programmes.  

It also focuses on enhancing the long-term care experience by hiring and training skilled staff and improving working conditions in LTC facilities. 

The progress of these initiatives will be measured against set targets, with British Columbia committing to annual public reporting.  

The latest investment builds on a previous C$1.2bn bilateral ‘Working Together’ agreement signed between the provincial and federal government in October last year.  

Working Together effort focuses on improving BC’s process of collecting, sharing, using and reporting health information, as well as the implementation of several other measures to improve the province’s healthcare system. 

This funding also aligns with Canada's broader commitment to invest nearly C$200bn over ten years, including C$5.4bn for tailored bilateral agreements with provinces and territories on ‘Aging with Dignity’.  

Holland said: “Canadians deserve access to safe and quality health care at every stage of their lives. Through this Aging with Dignity agreement and action plan, together with British Columbia, we will help transform the health care system so that no matter where they live, seniors in British Columbia can get the care they deserve.” 

Recently, Ontario signed a C$3.1bn bilateral agreement with the Canadian Government to enhance the province’s healthcare services.