Premier Scott Moe, Health Minister Everett Hindley and other local government representatives officially break ground on the tower that will see beds at the Victoria Hospital increase by 40 per cent. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Victoria Hospital expansion

The digging starts at Victoria Hospital expansion

May 10, 2024 | 6:00 PM

With golden shovels in hand, multiple provincial politicians were joined by local dignitaries to officially kick-start construction of a new tower at the Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert.

At $900 million, the acute care tower will require an additional 500 staff and serve the local region and northern Saskatchewan.

“I just think this means everything on so many fronts. It’s a service not only to the people in Prince Albert, but the region and the entire northern part of our province,” said Premier Scott Moe.

The acute care tower will mean another 500 staff, an MRI machine and expanded health care services. (submitted/SHA)

With the building of the helipad, addition of a CT scanner and new MRI, patients will be transferred to the Prince Albert hospital for care rather than being taken to Saskatoon or Regina, he said.

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When the hospital was first announced, it was expected to cost about $300 million. With pandemic era inflation, that number soon ballooned to $900 million.00:01:24 Speaker 2

“No, it didn’t give us a second thought. We’ve seen, you know, since the pandemic, the cost of construction and not even just related specifically to healthcare projects, but just construction in general,” said Everett Hindley, Minister of Health.

“We’ve seen this right across the board where the cost of nearly everything has gone up and that has included the construction of of of government projects and private sector projects.”

He said the province is still keeping in mind that they are spending taxpayer dollars, but the project was crucial.

“This is such an integral project for Prince Albert and surrounding area that it was critical that it goes ahead,” he stated.

Building a facility is one thing and staffing it is another, especially when the other major impact the pandemic had was a drastic increase in the need for health care workers.

On top of an existing shortage, the SHA will need to find another 500 people to move to Prince Albert.

Moe admitted it is a significant challenge, exacerbated by the fact that all provinces are facing the same shortage and trying to hire the same health care staff.

Premier Scott Moe was in Prince Albert Friday afternoon to help with the official ground breaking of the construction of a hospital expansion expected to cost about $900 million. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

It will take four years before the expansion is complete and in that time, Moe said the province can make headway in its efforts to hire international health care staff and also to train more people themselves.

“In the meantime, we need to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to build towards the staff needed for this facility and that includes in the mental health and addiction space as well,” he said.

In addition to the current 10 youth beds and 29 adult beds for mental health and addictions, the expanded services will add another four youth beds and another 10 adult beds.

Moe is confident in the approach the province is taking to resolving staffing shortages

“What you’re seeing Saskatchewan do that might be a little bit different than other provinces is a very focused four-point health, health human resource plan,” he said.

Along with adding training seats (more psychiatric nursing seats were announced yesterday in Battleford and other CCA seats have been added across the province), the province is offering cash incentives to doctors who are willing to work in more remote areas.

Another challenge of the expanded building will be the need to put beds and equipment in it.

Cody Barnett, CEO of the Boreal Health Care Foundation, said the campaign to raise the $56 million needed for that has begun.

“We’re not in public phase yet, but we are actively fundraising. This is the largest fundraising campaign in Northern Saskatchewan’s history,” he said.

The non-public phase involves finding corporate/business donors and after some time, will switch to looking for money from the general public.

Like the completion of the tower, it is expected to wrap up in 2028.

The new tower will increase overall capacity at Victoria Hospital by approximately 40 per cent, from 173 to 242 inpatient beds, with room within the overall facility to expand up to an additional 40 beds.

Developed by PCL Construction, the design includes a heliport on the roof, expanded emergency department, larger operating rooms and day surgery, pediatrics, maternity, enhanced medical imaging including northern Saskatchewan’s first MRI, lab services, a new adult mental health unit and intensive care unit.

The recently expanded Malhotra Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will also be incorporated into the new space.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com