TENILLE TELLMAN
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The Medicine Hat Regional Hospital — along with all other tentative capital projects in the health sector — will remain at bay as the province reviews their announcements, Health Minister Ron Liepert said Monday.
The escalation of construction costs have consistently been a problem and with approximately $5 billion in capital currently allocated for health facilities in the province, government must revisit their plans, said Liepert. His department has been asked to bring their entire capital plan back to the treasury board for review and “whether we’ll be in a position to make any announcements prior to budget (2009/10), I don’t know.”
Government must look at all their “in flight” capital, including projects which have already started and those which have been announced but have not yet been tendered, to see if they are still right in “the new world” and if they will meet provincial needs, he added.
Liepert would not comment on the status of specific projects such as the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, but provided an example from Edson where the $30 million allocated for a hospital five years ago would now cost closer to $80 million if they were to build it.
“We are now in a situation where the revenue stream has dried up, there is no extra dollars for capital,” said Liepert.
“We need to assess what it is that we are doing in every one of our facilities across the province to ensure that it meets best practices.”
Former Palliser Health Region board chair Carol Secondiak called the news disheartening and says the need for an expansion has not decreased while government has continued repeating reports and reviews.
“I don’t quite understand how we can be at the top of the list and keep getting put off like that,” she said.
Parts of the hospital sit empty and ready for renovation, while other programs are leasing space throughout the city. Secondiak says Alberta Health and Wellness should consider whether this is a best practice for space utilization.
But she maintains the belief “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” and says people need to speak out about their concerns. |
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