The provincial government announced the first phase of the redevelopment of New Westminster’s Royal Columbian Hospital.
Opened in 1862, Royal Columbian is the oldest hospital in the province and while the original buildings are no longer used, it’s still very much in need of upgrades.
“Phase one will be home to a new mental health and substance abuse facility, outpatient clinics and services to ensure better care for seniors,” said B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake during an announcement at Royal Columbian Wednesday.
No one is happier about the redevelopment than Dr. Anson Koo, Royal Columbian’s head of psychiatry, who has been working out of the Sherbrooke Building, an aging facility that was originally used as a nurses’ dormitory and not suited to treat psychiatric patients.
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“The environment is just not therapeutic in a way that modern mental health buildings and programs are with open spaces, access to the outdoors, natural lighting, privacy,” said Koo.
The new mental health facility will have 75 beds, more than twice as many as the old Sherbrooke Building. Twenty of those beds will be reserved for geriatric patients dealing with acute depression, anxiety and psychosis, making it the first facility of its kind in Fraser Health.
Where do seniors currently go for help?
“Our seniors, in particular, they would be admitted to wherever there was space in our health authority, non-specialized mental health-type programs and sometimes they would spend time in emergency departments,” said Koo.
The redevelopment will consist of three phases with the first scheduled to begin this year and finish by 2019 at a cost $259 million. Royal Columbian will have to raise $9 million with the province providing the rest.
-with files from Linda Aylesworth
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