The opening of the future hospital in Vaudreuil-Soulanges postponed to 2027

A new schedule presented Thursday afternoon by the Couillard government foresees that the future hospital in Vaudreuil-Soulanges will open in 2027, six years later than promised. The establishment will be much bigger, but will cost twice as much as expected.

The Prime Minister and his team, who travelled to Vaudreuil-Dorion for the announcement, justify this delay by saying that “the clinical plan [...] takes into account the new organization of services in the territory and the demographic evolution of the population over the coming years.”

“Its conclusions have led the Government of Quebec to increase the scope of the project so that it can best meet the current and future needs of the population”, we added in the press release sent on Thursday.

The project dates back to 2016, when the Minister of Health, Gaétan Barrette, announced the imposition of a land reserve to build a hospital in Vaudreuil-Dorion, at the intersection of Autoroute 30 and Route 340, near Autoroute 40. A decree authorizing the imposition of a reserve had been issued in order to expropriate 250,000 square meters of land. The hospital was supposed to open in 2021.

Prime Minister Couillard made the announcement herself on Thursday. Photo: Radio-Canada/Fannie Bussière-McNicoll

The new version of the project reports 404 beds, compared to 200 in its initial version. It also provides for the development of an operating room with 10 operating rooms as well as an emergency room that can accommodate 41 stretchers. As a result, the project costs will increase from 800 million to 1.5 billion dollars.

The work will begin in 2022 and will end in 2026. In the meantime, the government intends to devote itself entirely to drafting the business case, which, according to its estimates, will take “about four years.” “This project is subject to the Major Projects Directive and must comply with the planning stages provided for by law,” it is explained.

Source: http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1090918/hopital-vaudreuil-soulanges-ouverture-report-projet-repousse

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