It’ll be several years still before Guelph is formally considered for a larger or second hospital.
At this point, Guelph General Hospital (GGH) officials are working with the province to determine if and when planning for one can officially begin, explained president and CEO Mark Walton.
And though he's grateful for the community’s interest in supporting the idea, he worries it’s too early in the process to have the needed impact.
“There will come a time and a place when we need to raise our collective voices together for maximum impact on advocating for a new hospital for Guelph,” said Walton, adding, “we need to know what we're asking for and I don't think that that's clearly defined at the moment.”
Efforts to define what’s needed have been underway for a while now. Hospital officials submitted a capital redevelopment proposal to the Ministry of Health last July and conversations to clarify the data, a.k.a. the need, are continuing, Walton noted.
Once the need has been established with the province, funding would be provided to officially begin planning. That’s the point at which decisions will be made such as whether it would be best to build a single, larger hospital or a second hospital.
Walton hopes to begin the formal planning process by next year.
“It is largely a function of the bureaucracy and the people we work with in the ministry, the information that they're dealing with, as well as, you know, who's the government of the day and where are their priorities – all of these things together make the timelines go longer or shorter," he said
The current hospital was built in 1951. It underwent a 135,000-sq.ft. expansion that began in 1997 and was completed in 1999.
In 1996, Statistics Canada pegged Guelph’s population at 111,033. Earlier this year, Stats Can updated Guelph’s 2023 population as 176,521.
GGH also serves parts of Wellington County, which, at the time of the 2021 census, had a population of 97,286. County residents are also served by other hospitals, including Groves Memorial in Fergus, Palmerston and District Hospital in Palmerston and Louise Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest.
According to GGH’s latest annual report, it services about 200,000 individuals. Last year it saw 57,389 emergency department visits, admitted 14,113 patients, conducted nearly 1.9 million laboratory tests, administered 177,315 diagnostic imaging tests and performed 17,006 surgeries.
As for the location of a second or expanded hospital, that decision rests with the province, Walton noted.
“We can only expand up,” he said of the current location on Delhi Street, which is about 13 acres in size. “And that's always a challenge and more expensive, so our preference is to build on a new site as opposed to the existing.
“But how that happens and in what configuration, that's really part of negotiations with the ministry. We're not at that point yet.”
Once it’s decided what size a new hospital should be, the amount of land needed can be determined – Walton figures 60 acres, based on what’s been seen in other municipalities – and community consultations can begin.
“There are a lot of different voices and perspectives as to how those should be delivered. So you take an equity, diversity and inclusion lens on this,” said Walton. “The community consultation is really about that. It's not what, but it's more about how.”
As an example, Walton said people might prefer some services not be provided in a hospital setting, but rather in the community.
“That can impact on the way in which we develop and begin to site-plan. So the community consultation is really about hearing our community's voice and ensuring that it's reflected in the design of the building going forward.”
Alongside those consultations comes a push to get Guelph on the province’s priority list for a new hospital.
“I do think our community's voice will be very important in this, but it has to be coordinated,” said Walton. “And frankly, it needs to happen at the right time. Part of that is a bit about the political cycle.
“It could be a little later in the process when we choose to activate our community.”
When the time is right, Walton said efforts will be made to rally residents around the hospital plan.
Of course, the community plays a critical role in fundraising to support the new hospital. Provincial rules require the community to contribute not just 10 per cent of the capital cost of the hospital itself, but the full cost of all equipment.
“I will say it's most helpful to have a planning grant in order to initiate that (fundraising campaign),” the CEO said. “Right now, I would say the community can help us generally by continuing to talk to our MPPs and our members of government to make sure that they know that we need a hospital, but more importantly, to continue to support the foundation and its ongoing efforts to make sure we have the best equipment at the hospital now.”
