QUESNEL, B.C. – Residents in the North Cariboo region of B.C. will soon be served by a new emergency department and intensive care unit (ICU) at G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital in Quesnel.
“Moving forward with the redevelopment of G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital in Quesnel is part of our work to deliver better, faster health care for people in every part of the province,” said Premier John Horgan in a press release. “The new state-of-the-art facility will be bigger and offer the latest technology, meaning health-care workers will have the room and equipment they need to help patients and families.”
The 60-year-old hospital has been planning redevelopment since 2014 to upgrade its ICU and emergency department. Last year, the province received a business plan from Northern Health and it was approved in March of this year. The upgrades are expected to cost $27 million and will be shared between the provincial government through Northern Health and the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District. Work is scheduled to begin later this year and wrap up in 2021.
“Our government recognized the need to upgrade G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital, which is expected to see an increase of approximately 11 per cent in patient visits to the emergency department in the coming years,” said Adrian Dix, minister of health. “We took quick action to approve the business plan, meaning this project is officially a go, so work can get started. This builds on the opening in 2018 of the Quesnel Urgent Primary Care Centre, which offers patients in the region improved access to everyday care delivered by a team of health-care professionals.”
The emergency department and ICU will increase threefold and share the same space to streamline workflow.
The new emergency department will feature a triage area, two examination rooms, a trauma and resuscitation room, an isolation and examination treatment room and a psychiatric observation room. Plans for the new ICU include five treatment rooms and a private family waiting area.
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