Shovels will be in the ground for the by the 鈥渕iddle of 2023,鈥� according to Adrian Dix, B.C.鈥檚 Minister of Health.

Dix gave an update on the new hospital鈥檚 building process Jan. 21 in a Zoom meeting sponsored by the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce.

鈥淭his is an exciting time for healthcare in Cloverdale, and we鈥檝e got a lot of work to do, but we鈥檙e on track, on schedule, on budget, for the largest provincial contribution to healthcare we鈥檝e ever seen in one project.鈥�

He said the cost for the project is budgeted at $1.6 billion.

Cloverdale was picked as a location because there is an need for increased services in the area.

The second Surrey hospital will include a regional cancer centre. Dix said it will be the fourth regional cancer centre in Fraser Health.

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The government announced its request for qualifications last November, inviting companies to express their interest in designing the new building by asking them to apply to be able to submit requests for proposals (RFPs).

鈥淭hat process will lead to the identification of up to three proponents who will be invited to participate in the RFP process. Then the contract will be awarded.鈥�

Construction will begin in the middle of 2023 and the hospital is expected to be open by the summer of 2027.

The hospital will have 168 in-patient beds, five operating rooms, four procedure rooms, an emergency department, 55 treatment spaces, a medical imaging department, two MRI machines, and three CT scanners.

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The new regional cancer centre will have an oncology ambulatory care unit, 50 examine rooms, 54 chemotherapy treatment spaces, and room for six linear accelerators for radiation therapy to provide care for people diagnosed with cancer.

Dix said the hospital is a major development for the whole area, not only for the community in general but also for the business community.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to mean a lot more people coming for work. It鈥檚 going to become a major employer. It鈥檚 going to continue to make Surrey a more attractive community to live in.鈥�

Dix said the government will need to increase the number of nurses to fill the new hospital鈥檚 needs.

The government will 鈥渕eet the test鈥� in relation to the Surrey hospital, he said, adding that having new health-care facilities that are top of the line help the government to recruit people.

He said Fraser Health has had historically low levels of acute care.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檙e building a new hospital in Surrey. We need people for it,鈥� Dix said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to train them. We鈥檙e going to work them. We鈥檙e going to treat them well. And it鈥檚 a real challenge right now, as you can expect, because everybody in the system on every level is exhausted.

editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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