A growing role for nurse-practitioners in BC: Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid says new regulations will allow N-P's to admit patients to hospital and discharge them without having to get other professionals to sign-off first.

"They absolutely have the competency and it was you might say somewhat odd they had the ability to provide care for patients but they couldn't admit and discharge them so it was actually providing a bit of a blockade to care."

MacDiarmid says the change will make hospitals more efficient.

The government is in the midst of hiring 190 new nurse-practitioners over the next three years.