Ford pledges support for $1B worth of work at Scarborough Health Network
Doug Ford has promised his government will spend more than $1 billion to fund construction of several expansion and redevelopment projects for the Scarborough Health Network (SHN).
The Premier and Health Minister Christine Elliott were on hand at the Birchmount Hospital to announce the funding on April 14. The projects will build more capacity for Scarborough and surrounding communities.
“While previous governments were okay with forgetting Scarborough, we are investing over $1 billion to give this community access to the world class health care they have been asking for. We’re getting it done for the people of Scarborough,” said Ford.
The centrepiece of the work sees the province invest an additional $3 million for the planning of a new Birchmount Hospital.
SHN plans to build the new Birchmount Hospital by making major renovations to the existing facility and building new infrastructure over the course of a phased billion-dollar redevelopment.
As part of the first phase, planning is underway to build a new, state-of-the-art inpatient tower with more than 200 new beds, 14 new operating rooms and additional space to support future growth. Once completed, Birchmount Hospital is planned to have over 450 beds, nearly doubling the current capacity.
"Today’s announcement will see our vision for new and updated hospital facilities become a reality,” said SHN President and CEO Elizabeth Buller. “This milestone investment in Scarborough will allow us to continue providing exceptional care now and in the future for our growing community."
The province reiterated its plan to invest $500,000 to support the redevelopment of the emergency department and fracture clinic at Centenary Hospital.
The redevelopment, which has now moved to Stage 2 of the planning process, will expand emergency services by replacing aging infrastructure with the latest in emergency medicine design and technology and creating more space for emergency care.
The province has also agreed to fund the planning and construction of a new chronic kidney disease facility that will be located in the new Bridletowne Neighbourhood Centre community hub.
The new facility will expand the network’s hemodialysis and chronic kidney disease programs and bring services together under one roof to make it easier and more convenient for patients to access lifesaving treatment.
Finally, the government says it will spend more than $20 million to renovate the Scarborough General Hospital to expand diagnostic imaging services and modernize one of the operating rooms.
“Our government is looking at every part of our health care system to improve access to care for patients and bolster the incredible work of our local hospitals,” said Elliott. “Every project at Scarborough Health Network will help meet the health care needs of families in the growing Scarborough community and put an end to hallway health care.”
SHN consists of Birchmount Hospital, General Hospital, Centenary Hospital and five satellite sites. During the pandemic, the network ran some of the busiest hospital-led vaccine clinics in Canada, delivering over 750,000 vaccines to some of Ontario’s most vulnerable populations.
SHN provides care to more than 832,000 people annually.