The provincial government says after years of demand, a new intensive care unit (ICU) will be built at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH).
Health Minister Adrian Dix was on hand to announce work will begin on the new ICU early 2020 and be ready in late 2021 at an estimated cost of $33.85 million.
The NDP government says the cost will be shared through Island Health, the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District and the Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation.
The province calls the nearly 50-year-old current 10-bed ICU outdated in space and functionality.
A 2013 external review of three of the Island’s tertiary ICUs called Nanaimo’s one of the worst in Canada and a risk to patients.
The NRGH ICU is expected to see almost 2,500 visits in 2018 and the province forecasts that number to grow by 30 per cent by 2033.
The new ICU will be located south of the current emergency department.