Province announces major changes to hospital redevelopment plan

The province wants to expand and fast-track the plan for building healthcare infrastructure in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

It announced what it is calling the “More, Faster: The Action for Health Build” plan Thursday morning.

“In concrete terms, this means over 400 new beds and four more operating rooms quicker,” explained Premier Tim Houston. “A new patient tower, a larger more functional emergency department, a new cancer care centre all on the Halifax Infirmary site quicker.”

“A major expansion at the Dartmouth General including a new emergency department quicker, new in-patient services at the Sackville Cobequid outpatient centre quicker. Two new stand-alone transition to community centres in HRM quicker. A new mental health and addictions campus and a new heart health centre, all quicker.”

Houston said the original hospital redevelopment plan was well intentioned, but it no longer fits the needs of Nova Scotians, especially now that the population in the Central Zone is expected to grow 29 per cent by 2043.

“It would have been a 2 million square foot complex that included no increase in beds, no increase in ORs, no plan to expand or modernize the emergency department and no capacity to respond to a population that is both aging and growing.”

“The previous approach was also far too slow. It was announced seven years ago and was still over ten years away.”

Houston did not provide a price tag for the project, but said it will be in the billions.

“It’s a generational investment, but this is about getting the facilities we need in this province to meet the needs of Nova Scotians,” he stated. “Whatever it costs, it’ll cost.”

The plan allows for various builds to be undertaken concurrently with construction expected to start in early 2023.