New Saint John ER set to open

The long-awaited expansion of the Saint John Regional Hospital's emergency department is scheduled to open Friday, several months behind schedule, but the reasons behind the delay remains unclear.

The New Brunswick government announced the $40-million expansion project in 2007. The renovated emergency room was supposed to open by mid-2010 but that unveiling is now scheduled for 2 p.m.

Staff are expected to begin seeing patients in the new area at 12:01 a.m. on May 13.

The hospital's emergency room first opened in 1982 when it was designed to handle about 25,000 patients a year. But the hospital's emergency ward has been seeing about twice that number in recent years.

The expanded hospital department will double the size of the emergency room when it opens.

Horizon Health Network officials did not respond to an interview request about why the project has been delayed.

A health authority spokeswoman directed all questions about the setbacks to the Department of Supply and Services.

However, officials with the provincial government did not provide any answers either on what is taking so long to complete the emergency room project.

Coroner's inquest called for changes

The problems with the small emergency room at the Saint John hospital became the focus of a coroner's inquest in 2006.

Lillian Mullin died two days after being sent home from the overcrowded emergency room.

A coroner's inquest was called to investigate Mullin's death.

The coroner's jury recommended the emergency room expansion in 2006 following the 78-year-old woman' s death.

Some witnesses testified at the inquest saying that crowding could have compromised the care and attention Mullin received.