The Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) Authority board has given the green light to a $37.5 million capital expansion of St. Mary's Hospital, which will now go to the Sunshine Coast Regional Hospital District and B.C. Ministry of Health for funding approvals. Meanwhile, last week, Premier Gordon Campbell announced that any future provincially-funded capital projects over $20 million will be considered for public-private partnerships (P3s) through Partnerships BC.
The ministry's funding approval process could take several months, according to VCH spokesman Clive Cam. VCH hopes to begin construction next summer, pending ministry approval.
"The St. Mary's hospital expansion has not been designated as a potential P3 project, however, it does have to get approval by the Ministry of Health," Cam said. "So what we're going to do is wait to see what the Ministry of Health comes back with. It wasn't our intention that it be a P3 project, but we'll see."
The proposed expansion conceptually includes additional inpatient beds, expanding ambulatory care and radiology - which includes a CAT scanner - as well as more inpatient and day patient surgical procedures. The expansion of rooms would include furniture and equipment for those rooms. The VCH board approved the business case for the expansion Oct. 18. Campbell announced at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention that P3s will be the province's new capital standard during his funding announcement on Oct. 27 for Victoria's sewage treatment system.
"Our experience has shown that public-private partnerships save money, transfer risk and add value through design innovations and ingenuity," Campbell said in a news release.
However, Powell River-Sunshine Coast NDP MLA Nicholas Simons questions the effectiveness of P3s in health care and would be disappointed to see the St. Mary's expansion become a P3.
"It certainly is a possibility that the government could make it into a P3," Simons said. "I think that we could expect anything from this government and Premier Campbell's recent remarks seem to indicate that ideologically he can only support interests that involve the private sector.
"I'm not against P3s in all situations but I'd like to see any evidence that it works in health care. Most evidence suggests that in the long run they are not any cheaper, they are not any more cost effective, but they are certainly less accountable."VCH has begun the $2.25 million detailed planning process for the expansion. The Sunshine Coast Regional Hospital District board (SCRHD), made up of local government representatives, committed to funding $900,000 for the design process, on the condition that the project go ahead, according to chief administrative officer John France. The regional hospital district has not made an official decision on whether it will contribute funding toward a portion of the $37.5 million capital project. The SCRHD is expected to receive the official news of the VCH board decision at the next hospital district meeting in November.
St. Mary's Hospital Foundation chair Bill Hubbs was at the VCH board meeting and later said he was excited with the decision. The foundation is close to reaching its fundraising goal for purchasing a CAT scanner for St. Mary's. The foundation has asked VCH for an outline of the equipment that would be part of the expansion, so the foundation could assist with funding to make sure the equipment arrives. As well, the additional community funding could allow for purchase of more high-tech equipment, Hubbs noted.
