NDP Leader Adrian Dix says Penticton needs a new hospital and deserves to get it but says politics is interfering with process.

Dix visited Penticton yesterday and toured the hospital in response to the Premier’s Wednesday announcement of a Business Plan going ahead.

Executive Director of the South Okanagan-Similkameen Medical Foundation Janice Perrino says locals will be asking Dix whether or not he will commit to a business case plan for hospital upgrades if the NDP wins the provincial election in May.

Dix told reporters that the hospital tower will be built after he met privately with doctors but gave no timelines for construction plans. “We’ve got to work the process now and we’ve got to get on with it. And that’s what we’re going to do.”

“This is something that we’re very pleased that Adrian Dix is going to be doing and the issue will definitely be brought up at that point and we will be asking him the question,” said Perrino.

NDP Health Critic Mike Farnworth committed to honouring any promises made by the B.C. Liberals regarding the hospital.

“Obviously this was political, but the fact that she came and made this announcement is at least a positive step forward. Could the government turn around and say they’re not going to do this? Sure, but we’re going to be all over their case if they do that,” said Perrino, who also claims that the NDP will be held accountable as well. “If the NDP end up being in government, we can point to what the Liberals did and ask them if they’ll pick up where the Liberals left off and go forward.”

The business case plan will cost $2 million, although it’s still unclear if that money will come from the provincial government or from a fund that the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has already put aside.