The co-chair of the West Coast Health Care Action Committee has seen the province’s design plan for the new hospital, which Parsons calls “beautiful.” However, the silence and lack of action has been unsettling.
With the change in building and operating approach of the long-term care component of the facility to public-private partnership, the expected 2015 construction start came and went. Construction was scheduled to begin in 2016.
With the Liberal Party and Leader Dwight Ball making promises to build a new Waterford Hospital — which Parsons said he supports — there is concern it may take away from the focus on building the new regional hospital.
“If there is no movement on that project by this summer, there is going to be action in Corner Brook,” he said. “There will be a lot of upset people.”
Twitter: @WS_CoryHurley
Next steps
The Western Star asked each of the candidates in the Corner Brook and Humber-Bay of Islands districts what they see as the next important step in the regional hospital project. They were also asked what they will do, if elected, to expedite the project.
Humber-Bay of Islands
• Connor Curtis, NDP
“The NDP has reiterated its call for there to be radiation treatment in the hospital, and certainly in support of what the hospital action committee have been saying.
“To give you a precise timeline, I can’t. But, to look at the promises that have been made over the past few years and the fact it has now been several years in the making, this should have been constructed a long time ago. I think there should have been more political will power to get it done.”
• Eddie Joyce, Liberal
“I have no idea the exact status of this hospital, because this government has kept it behind closed doors ... I know the long-term care was supposed to start this past summer, which was absolutely false.
“I can’t give an exact date of when it is going to start, but I know it is a priority. Once we get the status, the exact point it is in the design and ready to go to construction, I will make it public. I will meet with the action committee or have a public meeting to say what the status is.”
• Ron Jesseau, Progressive Conservative
“All the road work has been built around that hospital, all the ground work is done, and underground with regards to piping and plumbing. The next step for it is actually to drop the footing. When that is going to happen? The PC Party is still totally committed to the hospital. Other than that, I can’t tell you much about it.
“The first thing that has to happen is our financial situation has to improve some. Usually with these cycles with drops in oil prices is 18 months, so we have about a year or so gone in that. Predictions are that by the first or second quarter of 2016, oil will go up to $80 a barrel, and then we’ll start seeing more revenues. I can’t see why 2016/2017 something will be happening with that hospital.”
Corner Brook
• Neville Wheaton, Progressive Conservative
“The next step, as I understand it, is long-term care is the most critical beds needed right now. Why it didn’t go ahead last summer? I don’t know. I do know, from other projects I have been involved with, a lot of times when you go back to the market, there is a delay from getting it from the owner to a design build or a possible 3P thing there’s a whole bunch of steps that need to be redone.
“I’d get in there and try to understand the process so far, understand why it didn’t get started, and let the people know why, and keep pushing for that piece of infrastructure.”
• Holly Pike, NDP
“The first thing is to get firm funding and a good design in place, and then start building. The longer this is put off, the more it is going to cost — construction costs are rising all the time — and the further we are going to be in our current services. Medical technology is changing, if we don’t keep up with our hospital we are going to be so far behind that we won’t be getting reasonable service at all.
“We would want to do it as quickly as is feasible. What we have seen over the last several years is inaction from the current government on it, and I haven’t heard anything definite from the Liberals of how they would move it forward if they were in power. It has to be a priority for the west coast.”
• Gery Byrne, Liberal
“We are committed to immediate hospital reconstruction and there can be no mistake in that. But if what little actual plans that maybe in place are more about cuts to current medical and non-medical service levels compared to our existing hospital, then we will have to start building a new plan again from scratch.
“I am looking with a critical eye as to what will be put in it. It must be a facility that meets current and future needs.”
