County residents relying on the Kingston Health Sciences centre services have grown steadily over the past five years.
At Tuesday’s Prince Edward County Council meeting council heard from representatives of the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation on county residents using KHSC medical services.
According to the UHKF, from 2015 to 2019 there was a 10% increase in inpatient visits to Kingston from county residents. From 2015 to 2020 there has been a 15% increase in county residents accessing outpatient services, a 28% increase in county residents visiting Kingston emergency rooms and a 32% increase in county residents accessing care at the KHSC cancer centre.
The foundation is in the process of a massive renovation of Kingston General Hospital to the tune of $115 million to which the county has committed $400,000. So far the county has paid out $40,000.
The project includes demolishing four existing buildings on the KGH campus in phases and making way for the a new 12-floor tower.
The features include a new emergency department, surgical suites, NIC unit, labour and delivery space, clinical labs, two 36-bed inpatient and surgical floors, two shelled floors for future growth, new pharmacy space and a new data centre.
According to Susan Creasy, volunteer campaign chair for the UHKF, the upgrades to the Kingston Health Sciences Centre will enable it to better serve not only Kingston and nearby areas, but all of southern Ontario.
Currently the RFP is in the process of being developed with the RFP period expected to open this fall. The plan is to have a contract awarded by fall of 2022 and from there construction will start and extend to 2028, all assuming there are no delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise.
