After two recent scares involving contaminated medical equipment in B.C., the opposition NDP is releasing information on cuts they say could compromise safety in the province's largest health region.
Health critic Adrian Dix received a memo on Friday alerting staff to coming job losses in the sterilization departments of hospitals within the Fraser Health Authority.
Dix believes that the BC Liberals are endangering the health of patients by allowing these cuts to go forward.
"For patients, the problem is, a serious mistake can put their health at risk," he told CTV News.
"And for the health authority, a serious mistake can cost way more money than they could by cutting sterilization…in terms of costs, in terms of people getting sick.
This concern follows news this week that more than 500 people were warned they were at risk of contracting hepatitis or HIV after undergoing procedures with a contaminated endoscope at Victoria General Hospital.
Meanwhile, RCMP in Kamloops have announced that they're investigating intentional tampering of surgical tools at Royal Inland Hospital.
The cuts to Fraser Health's sterilization program come in the midst of the largest capital expenditure in the history of health care in B.C.
There is already $2 billion worth of construction on the books, and many billions of dollars more are needed just to keep up with current service demands.
But critics like Dix say that cutting services like sterilization is a mistake.
"These are penny-wise, pound-foolish decisions. We know that there is a significant growth right now across North America and in B.C. in hospital-borne infections," he said.
"This is a time to be invested in cleanliness and safety."
The Fraser Health Authority says the staff cuts only account for seven positions out of 230 in its sterilization program.
"We believe we have the appropriate resources there in place, and we have internal and external audits going on," David Plug, spokesman for the health authority said.
And when a new Surrey outpatient care and surgery centre opens next year, more than a dozen new sterilization specialists will be hired.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger
