A major milestone has been reached for Phase 2 of the Royal Columbian Hospital Redevelopment Project with a "massive" concrete pour for the new acute care tower involving more than 400 trucks.
“Royal Columbian’s three-phase redevelopment will elevate patient-centred care, introduce advanced medical technologies, replace aging buildings, and add more beds to increase the hospital’s capacity by about 50 per cent, helping it to address the significant increase in patient volumes seen in recent years,” says a Fraser Health statement.
The project is expected to be complete by 2026.
The estimated $1.49 billion, three-phase redevelopment project is funded by the provincial government, Fraser Health and the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation.
Government approval was given for phase one in May 2015. Construction started in 2016 and the new Mental Health and Substance Use Centre opened in Summer 2020. Phases two and three received government approval in April 2017. Phase two construction will start in 2021 and be complete in 2025. Phase three is projected to start in 2023 and complete in 2026.
This second phase expands the hospital’s bed capacity and will include a new acute care tower with:
- More beds for intensive care, cardiac intensive care, medicine and surgical patients, all in single-patient private rooms
- A new, larger Emergency with a satellite medical imaging unit
- Four more operating rooms, including one for cardiac patients, three more cardiology suites, two more radiology suites, and one more CT scanner in addition to services in the existing Health Care Centre that will create one large surgical ‘super floor’.
- More maternity beds and a maternity operating room.
- A 350+ stall underground parkade, a new main entrance and a rooftop helipad
- New advanced medical equipment and technologies, building services (e.g mechanical and electrical) and energy centre equipment
- Replacement of the aging Sherbrooke Centre, old power plant, main entrance and laundry/maintenance buildings with site enhancements
