Turning hotel into health-care facility will cost $15M, says government, but opposition skeptical

Government officials say they have a handle on the cost to transform an unfinished hotel into a facility for patients who no longer need hospital beds, but the type of patient suitable for the site is not yet known.

Senior officials with the Public Works Department appeared before the legislature's public accounts committee on Wednesday to discuss major health-care construction projects including the hotel site in Bedford, N.S., and the redevelopment of the Halifax Infirmary.

The government recently purchased the property for $34 million and has since budgeted $15 million for design and renovations. Gerard Jessome, chief executive of engineering for the province, said he's "very confident" the budget would deliver a "complete turnkey building."

The site is slated to become one of two transitional care units for patients who no longer need hospital beds, but are not ready to return home. It could also provide spaces for people in hospital who are awaiting a room in long-term care.

Whether that can actually happen at the site in Bedford remains to be seen. A consultant's report by Nycum Associates, obtained by CBC, raised concerns that even with costly and time-consuming renovations, the site would not be suitable for patients who can't get around on their own. Only a handful of units in the building were built to be wheelchair accessible. 

Jessome said he's confident the team working on the project, led by Lindsay Construction, can address the challenges of the report but he directed questions about patients to health officials.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson said the site, along with a similar facility planned for Bayers Lake, would free up space in hospitals, but final decisions about what type of patients will use them remains to be settled.

"There will be some folks who have issues with mobilization, there may be folks who are waiting to transition home, there may be people who are there for social reasons, as an example," she told reporters at Province House.

"So, it's hard to nail down just exactly the individual who will be there but it will be a supportive environment for folks who are transitioning to community with a variety of physical and mental abilities."

Thompson suggested patients who are more frail and have greater mobility challenges could be placed at the site in Bayers Lake, rather than Bedford.

New Democrat MLA Susan Leblanc told reporters she continues to be concerned with the lack of details about Bedford site and the issues flagged in the consultant's report.

"I think when an architecture firm who specializes in health-care infrastructure says this is not a good idea, then I'm already concerned. But for some reason, the government has decided to go ahead."

Liberal MLA Brendan Maguire said he'd like to see the government make more details about the project available to the public. He wondered if the government's effort to go faster could cause ballooning costs. 

"In almost every realm and every aspect of life, when you do things faster, quicker and without following the process, there is mistakes," he told reporters.

"And this isn't like, you know, fixing the roof of your house. We're literally building the health-care system and there is absolutely no transparency."

Lindsay Construction was selected through what's called an alternative procurement process which officials said included evaluating companies on a standing list. Although the company will manage the project, the bulk of the construction work will go to subcontractors brought in for mechanical, electrical and drywall work.

During Wednesday's meeting, officials also discussed oversight for the work to expand the Halifax Infirmary.

The minister responsible, Colton LeBlanc, has said he expects to have a contract with the proponent, PCL Health, finalized sometime in 2024. But before that, the government has budgeted $130 million this year to do preparation work at the site.

David Benoit, CEO of Build Nova Scotia, said a separate contract for the preparation work would be signed before shovels break ground this summer.

"This is, again, focused on things that we can get started right away that we know we need to get started on the site regardless and be able to advance the project so that when it comes time to construct it, we can move very quickly into construction," he told reporters.

Benoit said a value-for-money study of the broader project, including new in-patient units, operating rooms and an emergency department, is expected soon.