B.C.'s Health Minister Adrian Dix hailed plans worth almost $1.58 billion for a new hospital tower in Prince George as "transformative" for the community and the broader region.

But he could not escape questions about delays behind the project and emergency room closures through northern B.C. caused by staff shortages and other issues. 

"This is important not just for people in Prince George, but also the entire region," he said of the hospital tower while in Prince George to announce the approval of the tower's business plan on Thursday (Aug. 8).

He also used the occasion to address related questions about staffing shortages and ER closures.

"We are throwing everything and the kitchen sink at this." 

Plans call for the construction of the new 11-storey tower to get underway in fall of 2026 with some site work already underway, a point Dix stressed when asked why area residents have to wait "until 2026 to get a hole in the ground."

Plans call for construction to wrap up in 2031 following what Dix called an extensive procurement process given the size and complexity of the project. 

The government had approved the concept plan for the project in the fall of 2020, three years after Northern Health had submitted its original concept plan, which underwent revisions before final approval.  

Dix responded in part to the question about the project's pace by pointing to the smaller hospital project in Terrace. Government approved its concept and business plan in February 2018 and 2019 respectively, he said, noting that the project is smaller with fewer moving parts than the project in Prince George. Construction of the new Terrace hospital is scheduled to wrap up in September 2024. 

"So that's how long it takes and the important thing is that we are doing it," Dix said. "We are doing it in the context of the most important hospital construction program in the province's history, not just Northern Health. I could list off the other 30 communities." 

The tower, to be located on the southeast corner of the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, will more than double the current number of beds for surgical, mental-health and cardiac services to 211 from 102.

A central component of the new facility will be an expanded and centralized cardiac unit. Cardiac care currently happens across multiple locations in the hospital and the limited number of spaces given the age of the hospital first built in 1958 has seen patients travel long distances to other parts of the province to receive care. 

"This acute care tower will make this hospital, I believe, the best hospital in northern Canada and one of the best hospitals in Canada, period, and that is what the community deserves," Dix said. 

As Dix was speaking in Prince George, Mackenzie and District Hospital had just announced that its emergency room would be closing between 10 a.m. Thursday and 7 a.m. Friday (Aug. 9) because of staffing shortages, drawing attention to related questions around staffing shortage and emergency room closures in northern B.C. 

Dix pointed to various new hirings, including 6,000 net new nurses last year, while also acknowledging that more needs to be done, given B.C.'s growing but aging society.

"We got to continue to recruit. That means training more," he said. "It means bringing in more and recruiting more internationally educated doctors and nurses and we are doing that. Last year was a record year for B.C. for both."

Dix said this also means improving the work environment for existing staff and creating more domestic training spots in pointing to a long list of measures. 

B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon dismissed Thursday's announcement as a photo opportunity two months before the election. 

鈥淧eople are frustrated that, after eight years of the NDP and constant lobbying by local B.C. United MLA Shirley Bond, (Premier David) Eby鈥檚 government can only offer another announcement that is light on details and specifics," Falcon said in a press release. 

Bond said she is relieved to see some movement finally, but added that area residents do not trust the B.C. NDP.

"I can assure you that a B.C. United government will immediately build this vital tower so that our communities receive the timely and effective healthcare solutions they deserve.鈥�