Coquitlam city council has voted to write a letter to the provincial government asking for the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster to be moved to the Riverview Hospital grounds in Coquitlam.
The motion was brought forward by Coun. Brent Asmundson and was passed unanimously.
Mayor Richard Stewart supported the idea and said
the $3 billion that has been spent on MLA new transportation in Coquitlam, including the Port Mann Bridge and new highway interchanges, works "perfectly" for new hospital traffic to be routed to Riverview.
Coun. Barrie Lynch voted in favour of the letter, but also voiced words of caution.
"We don't want to take resources from others," he said at Tuesday's meeting.
New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright was not available for comment by press time.
Dawn Black, New Westminster's NDP MLA, said it's highly unlikely Royal Columbian will move to the Riverview grounds but that Coquitlam council should advocate for Riverview to be expanded.
"Royal Columbian is the acute care facility for this district, and it makes sense for health care to be in one central location at this hospital," said Black. "I understand Coquitlam is looking toward facilities that should be incorporated into the Riverview lands, and they should advocate for what the original health-care provisions were for the grounds: mental health."
"This is still a very much needed part of the health system," she said. "Councils are free to request whatever they like."
Black said this is the first she has heard of Royal Columbian moving to Riverview, but said Coquitlam councillors have been active in making proposals toward mental health facilities at Riverview.
Mike Farnworth, NDP MLA for Port Coquitlam, echoed Black's thoughts on mental health and said he doesn't think the province is going to do anything in regard to the letter.
"These requests need to be made in the best interest of health care, and the real focus should be on Eagle Ridge and improving the services there, which could be done quickly," said Farnworth. "This won't get positive feedback from New West, and what it will do, it will serve as a distraction from what Riverview was supposed to be: mental health services."
"There should be a comprehensive mental wellness centre in Riverview that can serve all of B.C. That's what I believe the focus should be," he said. "There's a tremendous opportunity to put some really strong mental health services. New West is not about to roll over. Money has just been spent to do upgrades in there."
Ryan Jabs, manager of media relations and issue management for the Ministry of Health, said they had just been made aware of the City of Coquitlam's proposal but said it would be difficult to make Riverview Hospital into the care centre that Royal Columbian has become.
"Royal Columbian Hospital is a Level 1 trauma centre, the highest level of trauma capacity. There would be a significant number of costs and risks associated with establishing a new Level 1 trauma centre in any location," Jabs wrote in an e-mail. "Fraser Health has submitted a concept plan for the redevelopment of the Royal Columbian Hospital to the Ministry of Health. This is a significant undertaking, one that deserves our time and attention to thoroughly review."
He outlined several capital investments at Royal Columbian Hospital in the last several years, including a new regional renal centre to house all dialysis programs and a new CT scanner in 2006, a new 10-bed cardiac surgery intensive care unit and a second MRI machine in 2008, a new 16bed ICU, and minor renovations to the ER.
When Fraser Health was asked about the feasibility of moving Royal Columbian to the Riverview grounds, spokesperson Roy Thorpe-Dorward said decisions are based upon funding from the ministry, but they feel the community of Coquitlam is being adequately served for its hospital needs by the present system.
Douglas Horne, Liberal MLA for Burke MountainCoquitlam, said there have been numerous discussions about health services for Coquitlam residents, and for the entire region, but that a lot of thought needs to go into the decisionmaking process.
"There can't be snap in planning for the health-care needs for our region," said Horne. "I think we need to make sure that we're serving the people both now and in the future before we spend hundreds of millions on any particular site. We need to make sure it's the right place to build a hospital."
Horne said they also need to "fully understand the demographics and how our community is growing."
"In Coquitlam, in areas such as the Westwood Plateau, it is rapidly growing with lots of people moving in and lots of growth, and we need to make sure how those peo-ple are served," he said. "I think that as we look ahead, obviously, Riverview is one of the potential sites, and rebuilding at Royal Columbian also has potential. We shouldn't limit ourselves; we need to look at all of the options, and there might be others, before we decide that one is the only option."
He said he would never advocate to close Royal Columbian as it has a place in delivering health care, but rather what needs to be looked at is which services need to be provided in the long-run and what needs to be done to provide those services adequately.
At the council meeting, Asmundson did not have a sample draft of the letter prepared and a timeline was not given The next council meeting is set to take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19.
