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For The Record

CAPITAL INVESTMENTS IN HEALTH

June 2009
Ministry of Health Services
 

Letters to the Editor

Here are the facts on capital investment in health care by the Government of British Columbia. Since 2001, the province, regional hospital districts and foundations have spent nearly $5 billion on health care capital projects across British Columbia. In the next three years a further $2.5 billion will be spent on capital projects. Some recent investments include:

  • Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre: This new facility, which opened August 24, 2008, is a state-of-the-art 300-bed replacement for the aging MSA Hospital. The $475 million facility will provide enhanced and specialized health services to more than 150,000 people in the greater Abbotsford area, and up to 330,000 in the Fraser Valley region. The hospital will offer a new cancer treatment centre, MRI services, general surgery and all inpatient and outpatient hospital services.
  • Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre: This $95 million world-class outpatient facility that opened in 2006 is part of Vancouver General Hospital and provides services to 66,000 patients annually.
  • Royal Jubilee Hospital: The new hospital in Victoria will have capacity for up to 500 beds – most in single patient rooms. The facility will be elder friendly with a design to provide patient-centred, best practice care for seniors. The project will cost $348 million, and is currently under construction, with completion planned for late 2010.
  • Kelowna General Hospital: Expansion is underway at Kelowna General Hospital and will include a new patient care tower with a quadrupled emergency department, consolidated outpatient services and two extra inpatient floors. There will also be a new 34,000 square metre facility to house the fourth site for the UBC Faculty of Medicine. Completion is planned for 2012. The total investment in KGH will be $253 million.
  • Kelowna Cardiac Centre: Kelowna General Hospital will become the fifth hospital in B.C. to offer a full-service cardiac revascularization program. Through a multi-phase redevelopment, KGH will begin offering cardiac procedures by 2010, with full heart surgeries beginning in 2012. When fully operational, about 1,600 people from the Interior will receive the care they need closer to home.
  • Vernon Jubilee Hospital: Construction of a new patient care tower, including a new emergency department and new operating rooms, a new intensive care unit, new acute care beds, and new maternity and pediatrics ward is underway at VJH.  Completion is targeted for 2011. The total investment in Vernon Jubilee Hospital will be $180 million.
  • Surrey Outpatient Hospital: Construction of the new $239-million Surrey Outpatient Hospital is underway at the Green Timbers site and is scheduled to open in 2011. It will provide residents of Surrey and its surrounding communities with improved access to outpatient services and a primary health care clinic in a state-of-the-art health care facility. The four-storey facility will be located within one kilometre of Surrey Memorial Hospital, and will accommodate approximately 450,000 annual visits per year. 
  • Surrey Memorial Hospital: SMH will undergo a redevelopment that will add 151 beds, a new state-of-the-art critical care tower, a new emergency department five times the size of the current one, a perinatal centre, a new adult ICU, additional academic space, a helipad, additional underground parking, and a renovated maternity department with new obstetrics beds. Construction is set to begin in 2010, with estimated completion in 2014, and will cost between $500-600 million. In 2008, SMH also saw an expansion of its kidney dialysis unit and an additional 73 acute care beds.
  • Fort St. John Hospital: Fort St. John will see the construction of a replacement hospital and a new residential care facility to improve access to better health care for people in the northeast. The project includes a 55-bed hospital and a 123-bed residential care facility for seniors. Construction will begin in 2009, with completion targeted for 2011.
  • Northern Cancer Centre: Infrastructure investments in Prince George related to the implementation of the Northern Cancer Strategy include a new Cancer Centre facility linked to the Prince George Regional Hospital; an addition and renovations inside the hospital to accommodate a new 6-bed oncology unit; and renovations and enhancements to 11 sites in communities throughout the north, outside of Prince George, to accommodating expansion of community cancer clinics. The estimated cost is $100 million, with a planned completion date of 2012.

Letters to the Editor

April 7, 2009
Letter to the Editor
EXPANDED HOSPITAL PROJECTS BENEFIT KELOWNA AND VERNON
By George Abbott
Minister of Health Services
Submitted: Kelowna Daily Courier
Status: Not published
The increased cost of the record expansions at Kelowna General and Vernon Jubilee hospitals is caused by additional projects at the hospitals and the expansion of projects being included. [Read More]

February 20, 2009
Letter to the Editor
B.C. SUPPORTS IMPROVEMENTS TO SHUSWAP LAKE HOSPITAL
By George Abbott
Minister of Health Services
Submitted: Salmon Arm Observer
Status: Published February 24, 2009
Shuswap Lake General Hospital has a busy and efficient x-ray and ultrasound department, with hard-working and dedicated staff. The department needs to expand, and I have acknowledged that for several years. [Read More]

February 16, 2009
Letter to the Editor
P3 HOSPITALS WORK FOR LOWER MAINLAND
By George Abbott
Minister of Health Services
Submitted: Surrey Now
Status: Not published
The Abbotsford project was completed on time and on budget – a remarkable accomplishment considering the size and complexity of the province's first P3 acute care hospital. [Read More]

September 2, 2008
Letter to the Editor
P3s PROVEN TO WORK, SAYS MINISTER
By George Abbott
Minister of Health Services
Submitted: Kelowna Capital News and Kelowna Daily Courier
Status: Published September 2 and September 9
I wish to respond to Ken Robinson’s letter in the September 2 Kelowna Daily Courier (B.C. didn’t ask for P3s). [Read More]

July 23, 2008
Letter to the Editor
MRI FUNDING AND IMPROVEMENTS
By George Abbott
Minister of Health Services
Submitted: Coquitlam Now
Status: Published July 23, 2008
Re: Province should fund vital hospital equipment, July 16
I wish to answer the question posed in your July 12 article, "Province should fund vital hospital equipment?" [Read More]

July 23, 2008
Letter to the Editor
RECORD FUNDING FOR HOSPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
By George Abbott
Minister of Health Services
Submitted: Coquitlam Now
Status: Published July 23, 2008
Re: Province should fund vital hospital equipment, July 16
I wish to answer the question posed in your July 12 article, "Province should fund vital hospital equipment?" [Read More]