A multi-phase, multi-million dollar project is underway at the Dartmouth General Hospital's which is expected to double its operating space, add nearly 50 more patient beds, and eventually help lead to the closure of the aging Victoria General in Halifax.
“This expansion work is part of the QEII Redevelopment Project, which is an exciting initiative that has been underway for a while,” says Nova Scotia Health Minister Randy Delorey.
Patient care spaces on the third and fourth floors are being upgraded with a focus on infection control.
The hospital will also see big changes to the areas of pharmacy and diagnostic imaging.
“I was talking to a nurse who works in emergency and asked her what she thought. She said, "It looks great, it works great. It is better for the patients,’" says Dr. Todd Howlett, chief of medical staff at the Dartmouth General Hospital.
The entire expansion project is estimated to cost between $132 million and $138 million.
The work happening at the Dartmouth General is being spurred on by looming closure of the trouble-plagued Victoria General in Halifax. Development projects like this one are also happening at the Halifax Infirmary and the Hants Community Hospital in Windsor.
“We are confident that we will reach our goals of moving the appropriate expansions out across the province,” says Paula Bond of the Nova Scotia Health Authority.
The construction on the third and fourth floor is running behind schedule and is now expected to be complete by this fall. The entire project, which includes adding patient beds on the fifth floor, will take until 2022.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kelland Sundahl.
