Enhancements over three years include $748 million to expand urgent and primary care centres — of which there are 23 so far — and reduce surgery wait times made worse by the pandemic, as well as diagnostic services, and $585 million to hire about 3,000 new care aides. That’s a “really significant” and necessary investment, said Mike Old, interim secretary-business manager for the Hospital Employees’ Union, which represents about 50,000 health workers, including more than 15,000 care aides. Christine Sorensen, president of the B.C. Nurses’ Union, was disappointed with the budget, however, saying the pandemic has shown there’s a nursing shortage, with a significant deficit of critical-care nurses at a time of record-high admissions to intensive-care units.