HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's massive health-care redevelopment plan will cross a key milestone next week with the opening of an outpatient centre in suburban Halifax that is expected to treat 280,000 patients a year.
Premier Tim Houston said the opening of the Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre represents a 鈥渂ig moment鈥 for the region.
鈥淭his facility will serve thousands of patients who previously would have had to travel into the downtown core for care,鈥 he said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday.
The clinic, set to welcome its first patients Monday, will offer such services as initial visits with specialists, post-surgery followups, blood collection and X-ray imaging. It is equipped with 100 clinical spaces and 24 dialysis stations.
Houston said the clinic鈥檚 location west of downtown was chosen because it鈥檚 close to major highways and easier to access for residents of Halifax's growing suburbs.
Dr. Christy Bussey, medical director of Nova Scotia鈥檚 central health zone, said she is thrilled to see the opening of this new clinic.
鈥淚t's been many years since a new facility has been opened and unveiled, and many of us clinicians and staff, and patients for sure, feel it鈥檚 long overdue,鈥 she said Wednesday.
In August 2020, EllisDon construction was awarded a nearly $260-million contract to design, build and maintain the new outpatient clinic. It is part of a major health-care infrastructure overhaul across the Halifax Regional Municipality that will include a redevelopment of the QEII Health Centre鈥檚 Halifax Infirmary in the city centre.
In May, the province announced that construction was set to start at the infirmary site, but that work has yet to begin. Colton LeBlanc, minister responsible for health-care redevelopment projects, said Wednesday that design work for the project is ongoing.
鈥淲e had hoped to start enabling work this summer, that didn鈥檛 happen. So in the meantime we鈥檙e continuing with the design,鈥 he told reporters Wednesday.
鈥淲e recognize that we need to have 100 per cent confidence in the design before we start digging,鈥 he said. LeBlanc said he expects construction on the infirmary to begin next year.
The Halifax hospital redevelopment was first announced in 2016 and was expected to cost $2 billion at the time. In December 2022 Houston announced that the redevelopment of the sprawling hospital complex was being revised to add 423 more beds than originally planned, which he said would cost 鈥渂illions.鈥
When asked Wednesday about progress on the infirmary redevelopment, Houston said the 鈥渃ost pressures are real,鈥 and the government is monitoring costs associated with major construction projects.
鈥淲e have to have good, modern facilities. People want to practise medicine in modern facilities, and Nova Scotians, the patients, deserve it too,鈥 he said.
鈥淪o we know those investments will be made and we鈥檙e committed to those investments.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Nov. 15, 2023.
