Hospital made urgent request for $15 million renovations

16 months later ministry says it is “still reviewing their submission"

More than a year ago, Campbellford Memorial Hospital made an urgent request to the health ministry to approve a $15.6 million plan to improve patient and staff safety by expanding its emergency department and revamping inpatient rooms.

The hospital said the renovations to its aging facility were necessary to provide proper care until it is replaced by a new building in a decade or so.   

The original request was submitted by Interim CEO Eric Hanna in February 2023. In May 2023, Ontario Health East, the region of the ministry that oversees health care from Pickering to Ottawa, said it recommended the government proceed with the work.

But this week, more than a year later, a health ministry spokesperson would only say: “The Ministry of Health is in receipt of their proposal and are still reviewing their submission.”  

For the past several years, the hospital’s board has been asking the province to approve construction of a new facility on the northwest edge of town. At this point in the process, it is only seeking a $2-3 million planning grant to move ahead. Getting that grant would not guarantee approval of a new facility. But even getting that grant has proven impossible, although with a provincial election expected next spring it seems likely.

Current hospital CEO Jeff Hohenkerk told me last month he has met with Premier Doug Ford and been assured a new hospital will be approved some time.

It’s clear from some of the comments from the ministry staff on the renovation plan that there were concerns about spending $15 million on a four-year construction program if a new hospital was going to built within seven years, as suggested.

“It was a stop-gap measure given the anticipated length of time for a new hospital,” the now retired Hanna told me in an email. “It’s a risk to proceed as the ministry might say that’s good enough, but many hospitals have to make investments while they wait.”

The emergency department has been swamped for several years, frequently urging patients to seek care elsewhere, or even closing. The proposed renovation would add 500 square feet to the 40-year-old department, which would deal with some of the problems. It would involve moving the medical record storage and the pharmacy. During construction some space would be rented from the adjacent multi-care lodge.

As well, the proposal would try to deal with some of the inpatient problems that were highlighted by Covid-19. The existing patient rooms are inadequate for caring for patients during infections. It proposes renovating the third floor as inpatient space.

“We believe it would be far more advisable to completely renovate this area for a new inpatient unit while the existing inpatient beds continue to operate without disruption,” the submission says.

Hanna noted that ministry officials correctly spotted that even with the renovations the hospital’s inpatient rooms would not meet current standards, but he said that fact just demonstrates the need for a new facility.

Over the past couple of years, the province has spent millions upgrading the HVAC system and work is underway on a new generator.

In a May 17, 2023 presentation supporting the renovations, Eric Partington, Vice President, Performance, Accountability and Funding Allocation with Ontario Health East, stressed the current situation puts patients and staff at risk.

“CMH originally submitted the Master Plan Redevelopment Capital Project in 2015, with the most recent updated submission last October 2022. The proposal is to plan and advance redevelopment of a new site for the CMH. The current timeline is approximately 10 years. The Master Plan briefing note was submitted to the Senior Leadership Team last fall. Health Capital Investment Branch (HCIB) is currently reviewing the feasibility and consideration for approval to move forward with this significant investment.

“The infrastructure of the current CMH, specifically the Emergency Department and the Inpatient Unit, requires immediate renovation and remediation due to patient and staff safety issues as well as code compliance infractions. As recently as the autumn of 2022, the inpatient unit at the direction of public health, had to be closed due to the inability to adequately isolate patients. Several options have been investigated to address these deficiencies to allow patient care to be effectively delivered until such time as the new Campus of Care hospital facility is completed.”

Partington outlined the key problems with the existing hospital, including the need for more emergency department space and the inability to isolate patients with infectious diseases.

The department has been swamped many times lately.

As well, he noted: “Inpatients are being kept for extended periods in unconventional multi-stretcher, windowless recovery room which is inconsistent with proper infection control practices and standards for inpatient care during a bed surge or in outbreak.”

The copy of his presentation and other documents that I obtained through a freedom of information request had most cost figures blacked out, aka redacted. But luckily the redactor missed one spot.

“In summary, the costs of the proposed renovations are estimated to be in the order of magnitude of $15.6 million with a timetable for a phased completion of some 36 months for inpatient and emergency renovations with a final 12-month phase for clinical and support services,” Partington concluded.

In his covering letter to Partington seeking the renovations, Hanna said: “(T)he proposed renovations will reduce the likelihood of future disruptions in service due to the hospital’s inability to meet care challenges due to infrastructure gaps. … We believe the renovations described in this submission will allow us to maintain this high level of quality of care over the next 8 to 10 years.”

The submission said: “The hospital is taking a minimalist approach with the assumption that a new facility will be occupied in 10 years or less. These renovations within the current facility building envelope address significant deficiencies in health and safety and IPAC requirements. The renovations DO NOT address growth.” (All caps in the original, just in case the reviewers weren’t sure.)

Ironically, one of the comments on the document asks what would happen if growth occurs post renovation and before a new facility is built. The reality is that we know the answer to that, we’d be pretty much where we are now.

FYI, I reached out to the hospital for comment on this proposal but didn’t get a response.

I received this information through a freedom of information request. I actually was looking for anything I could get on the plans or lack thereof for a new hospital. No luck there, but instead, I received several documents about the proposed renovation and got lucky that the person with the black pen missed one cost estimate.

As a taxpayer and a journalist, I am always frustrated when our governments refuse to provide cost information on how they are planning to spend our money. It’s a small victory when they miss one number with the black pen.