Renovating an unused operating room at the Hants Community Hospital in Windsor will mean 800 more surgeries at the hospital each year, nearly doubling the annual number of procedures.
Premier Stephen McNeil and Janet Knox, Nova Scotia Health Authority president and CEO, unveiled plans to revitalize a second operating room at the hospital today, March 16.
This is part of the QEll Redevelopment Project which will see services transferred from the QEll Health Sciences Centre to support the eventual closure of the Victoria and Centennial buildings at the VG site.
“We have been given a privilege not every generation is given – the opportunity to reshape our health-care system and change the way we deliver care,” said Premier McNeil. “The QEII redevelopment project is about co-ordinating care and improving access for all Nova Scotians. Hants Community Hospital is an important part of that.”
Right now, the Hants Community Hospital has one functional operating room. A second operating room, dating back to when the hospital was originally built in 1976, will be renovated and prepared for use.
“This is a facility that my colleagues, and our community, are really proud of, and we often hear from our patients about the exceptional care they receive from the staff, doctors and volunteers who work here,” said Sherri Parker, senior director, Hants Community Hospital. “We are very pleased that, as a result of this work, twice as many people will be able to have surgery here.”
The project is expected to cost about $3.8 million.
“The Hants Community Hospital Foundation wholeheartedly supports this project which will provide important operating capacity to both the Windsor and West Hants areas, as well as to the entire province,” said Andy Kirk, chair, Hants Community Hospital Foundation. “With the support of local businesses and citizens we look forward to fundraising to support this important project.”
Construction is expected to begin in August and be completed over a three-month period. Surgeries that would normally be done at the hospital during that time will be performed at other facilities in the province.
“The expansion of services here at Hants Community Hospital demonstrates the work we do as a provincial health authority – working toward shorter wait times and providing opportunity for less-complex care services closer to home,” said Ms. Knox.
The QEII redevelopment includes projects at the Halifax Infirmary, Dartmouth General Hospital, Hants Community Hospital and other sites.
For updates on the QEII redevelopment project, go to http://QE2redevelopment.ca.
Source: Release