Interior Health has released an update on redevelopment plans for the Cariboo Memorial Hospital which still remain in the Concept Planning phase.
Peter du Toit, Interior Health Services Administrative for the Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap, says one of the reasons why completion of the planning phase was extended was due to the desire to explore the provision of single-patient rooms, that was not considered in the master plan.
“When we did the initial master planning, we looked at space requirements and after that, we changed the space requirements to exclusively have a private, single room, inpatient service.”
“What that meant was an addition to some of that space requirement and then as well as additional space requirement for single-room maternity options in the hospital.”
The project was also impacted due to staffing changes with individuals who were closely linked to the project, says du Toit.
Despite the unexpected delays, according to du Toit, Interior Health knows the community wants the project to move forward as quickly as possible.
“We want to assure residents of the Cariboo that we have continued to work on the various options for the concept plan.”
“Interior Health is fully committed to completing this plan for submission to the Ministry in the Spring (2015) and it’s not because of any change of focus. There has been continued work as we look at the best possible option.”
The concept Plan on the Cariboo Memorial Hospital, when submitted to the Ministry of Health would be subject to the provincial prioritization process and the availability of capital funding.
Interior Health had originally planned to be finished the Concept Plan by summer 2014.