Niagara South Hospital RFP issued
The Ontario government has released the request for proposals for private-sector consortia to build the new Niagara South Hospital.
The province made the announcement on October 28.
The hospital is part of the government’s plan to expand health-care services in the Niagara Region. Once complete, the facility will add more hospital beds and bring together acute care services, improving access to high-quality health care and making it easier for patients to receive the care they need closer to home.
The scope of the RFP calls for design, build, finance and maintenance work, and the project is valued at more than $1 billion in the latest edition of Infrastructure Ontario’s P3 Market Update.
Shortlisted for the RFP are teams led by EllisDon, PCL Constructors and Amico Design Build Inc.
“It is this government’s mission to fortify hospital capacity and ensure that Ontarians can receive world class health care, wherever they live in the province,” said Premier Doug Ford. “This new hospital gets us closer to providing the people of the Niagara region with direct access to the quality of health care they deserve and a hospital that will fit the needs of its growing population.”
Currently, Niagara Health operates five separate campuses that serve approximately 450,000 residents across the Niagara region. Once completed, the new hospital will consolidate and expand acute care services, and replace outdated infrastructure with high-tech facilities. In addition to emergency, critical care and surgical services, South Niagara Hospital will feature several centres of excellence specializing in stroke, complex care, geriatrics and geriatric psychiatry, and wellness in aging.
The new hospital is planned to have 469 beds, which is 156 more beds than the combined total number of beds at Niagara Health’s Port Colborne, Fort Erie and Niagara Falls campuses. Niagara Health will continue to operate the existing facility in St. Catharines, which was opened in 2013, along with the Welland campus.
The hospital also aims to become the first WELL certified healthcare facility in Canada, focused on the health and well-being of their staff, physicians, volunteers, patients, families and caregivers, and members of the Niagara community.
“Supporting hospital infrastructure projects like the new South Niagara Hospital is a vital part of our government’s plan to end hallway health care and build a connected, patient-centred health care system that will support Ontarians for generations to come,” said Minister of Health Christine Elliott. “The request for proposals brings us one step closer to a new hospital that will ensure patients and families in the Niagara region have access to the high-quality care they need and deserve, when and where they need it.”
Niagara Health has the fourth busiest emergency department in the province, with almost 200,000 unscheduled visits annually. Niagara Health performs the highest number of day surgeries or surgical cases in the region, with nearly 40,000 performed yearly and serves on average 802 inpatients per day.
“Communities are at the heart of everything we do,” said Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma. “That is why our government is committed to investing in meaningful infrastructure projects that make a real difference in the health, well-being and safety of Ontarians.”
IO and Niagara Health expect to announce the successful project proponent next fall.