SASKATOON ROYAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL TO BE SITE FOR NEW CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Planning on the children’s hospital has progressed to the point where the preferred location and general parameters can be announced.

“I am pleased to confirm that the hospital will be located at Royal University Hospital,” Healthy Living Services Minister Graham Addley said.  “The scope of planning is progressing well and has expanded to include maternal services which are closely tied to pediatrics and care of other young people.”

The work completed to date has identified Royal University Hospital as the preferred location.  There are several reasons for this including less disruption of current services, physicians, nurses and other staff, better road access and the ability to group related services more efficiently.

New space will need to be constructed, since one of the current deficiencies is lack of appropriate space allocated to maternal and children’s health care.  Total space must be increased and existing buildings at Royal University Hospital do not allow for expansion. 

”As an obstetrical nurse, and a resident of both the City of Saskatoon and this province, I am very pleased to see this progress because of improvements in quality of care this project will offer for mothers and children of this province,” Saskatoon Eastview MLA Judy Junor said.

It will be a “maternal and children’s” facility because obstetrical, newborn and pediatric services make up the continuum of maternal and children’s care and co-locating them achieves the most efficient use of resources.

Further decisions by government will consider the functional plan, construction costs, risk management strategies to mitigate rapidly increasing construction costs and the issues of managing a number of major construction projects on the same site at the same time.  Plans are to have a project proposal that can be considered for the 2008-09 budget. 

The 2007-08 budget provides up to one million dollars for further development plans.  This project is at step eight (development of a complete functional program process) of the 18 step capital project development process.  At step eight, the program, project scope, preliminary budget and high level conceptual plan are developed.  Saskatchewan Health will hire a consultant to be part of the planning team that will include planners, architects and consultants.
“I’m delighted with the confirmation of the location,” Saskatoon Health Region CEO Maura Davies said.  “This will enable us to sharpen our pencils and really focus on the details needed to move this project forward, onward and upward.”

The development of the maternal-child hospital is part of the government’s plan to strengthen healthcare services in this province including the new construction at the Hantleman Building for mental health services, the Oliver Lodge long-term care expansion, new MRIs at Royal University Hospital and St. Paul’s Hospital, the Station 20 project, and most recently, enhancements to critical care and recovery facilities and the purchase of cardiosciences equipment.

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For more information, contact:

Joan Petrie
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: jpetrie@health.gov.sk.ca