$812 million in capital spending for Manitoba

BRANDON, Man. – Premier Brian Pallister and Lanette Siragusa (pictured), Manitoba’s chief nursing officer, and Shared Health’s provincial lead of health system integration and quality, announced a capital investment of an estimated $812 million for approximately 38 projects, including new facilities, as well as renovations and expansions to existing infrastructure.

Together, these projects will form the foundation of Manitoba’s new Provincial Clinical Network, a system of health services that will improve access and enhance the quality and reliability of care while reducing provincial wait times.

The clinical network will also reduce the need for many Manitobans to travel long distances for care by providing more services in a community closer to home.

These investments have been identified as part of Manitoba’s Clinical and Preventive Services Plan, Pallister added. Released in November 2019, the plan was developed and led by clinical leaders and health system experts from across the province.

Detailed planning has looked at population growth and community health needs, distance to specialized 24/7 health services, and the stability and reliability of the province’s health workforce.

“This is an investment in the equipment, buildings, technology and health-care professionals that will improve outcomes and better support the needs of all Manitobans,” said Siragusa. “In emergencies, it’s going to mean reliable access to care with hospital-based and emergency response services that can be counted on when you need them. For rural and northern communities, it’s going to mean greater access to health services locally, with increased in-home care and other supports that will reduce the need for travel and support Manitobans at home, or in the community, for longer.”

The announcement includes nearly $70 million to enhance health services in Brandon, establishing the Brandon Regional Health Centre (BRHC) as a centralized hub of specialized services for western Manitoba. The investment includes funds both for the expansion and renovation of clinical spaces within the health centre and for enhanced cancer services at the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre.

The addition and renovations at the BRHC will include:

• approximately 30 new medicine beds,
• a new intensive care unit with additional staffed adult beds to meet the increasing demands of the health region and the province, and
• a renovated and expanded neonatal intensive care unit.

“Today’s announcement is the next step for Brandon Regional Health Centre’s exciting future role as the province’s hub for specialized services in Western Manitoba, said Brian Schoonbaert, chief executive officer, Prairie Mountain Health. “The enhancements to BRHC’s intensive care unit, the neonatal intensive care unit and the new medicine beds will provide the necessary infrastructure and supports to continue to provide exceptional care to our clients, patients and residents.”

The expanded and renovated Western Manitoba Cancer Centre will serve as a regional cancer hub, providing enhanced cancer services for patients from across western Manitoba. The project will include:

• an anticipated 7,000-sq.-ft. expansion as well as renovation of existing space including additional exam rooms and treatment spaces; and
• a new medical linear accelerator (LINAC), commonly used for delivering external beam radiation treatments to patients with cancer.

“With the steady rise in cancer incidence, and with more treatment options for cancer, expanding our ability to deliver quality care closer to home in western Manitoba will be of benefit to patients,” said Dr. Piotr Czaykowski, chief medical officer, CancerCare Manitoba.

Construction on the Brandon projects is expected to begin next year and be complete by the summer of 2025, the premier said, adding details on additional projects will be announced over the next several months.

The announcement builds on other major infrastructure investments at health facilities throughout the province in recent years, including construction of the Selkirk Regional Health Centre and new emergency departments in Flin Flon and Dauphin and at Winnipeg’s Grace and St. Boniface hospitals.

For more information on Manitoba’s Clinical and Preventive Services Plan, visit https://sharedhealthmb.ca/wp-content/uploads/CPSP_Overview_NL.pdf.