Improvements Announced for St. Martha's Regional Hospital

Better patient care and improved working areas for staff will be some of the benefits of a $9.3-million investment in St. Martha's Regional Hospital in Antigonish.

Health Minister Angus MacIsaac announced today, Aug. 22, plans to redevelop several hospital areas, including emergency and ambulatory care services, and in-patient and outpatient mental health services.

"This project is a major step on the road to improving health care for residents in this part of the province," said Mr. MacIsaac. "It means more space for hospital staff to do their jobs, it means more privacy for patients, and it means more room to expand health services in the future."

Since the building was opened in 1989, St. Martha's Regional Hospital has become a major referral centre for the district. Along with St. Martha's, the adjacent Martha Centre building will be renovated to house all district administrative services, public health services and other medical service offices, freeing up space in the hospital.

"This funding allows us the tremendous opportunity of updating our space to better support the work that we do," said Kevin MacDonald, CEO, Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority. "St. Martha's was built at a time when health-care services centred on in-patients. Now, our care is more family-centered, offering a wide variety of day and ambulatory care clinics."

Areas such as oncology for cancer treatments, day surgery, children and women's health, and palliative care will benefit from the redevelopment.

Space will also be created for new MRI services, announced in 2004.

The project will roll out in four phases to reduce disruption to hospital services. Phase one will begin in 2005-06, with completion of all phases planned for 2008-09. It will be cost-shared by the Department of Health and the Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority. The department will provide $7 million (75 per cent), and the health authority will provide $2.3 million (25 per cent).

Investing in the right equipment and services is part of the province's plan to reduce wait times and improve access to services.