St. Paul's Hospital move not up for debate in public forums, says operator

Residents in Vancouver's West End willhave a chance to air their concerns abouta controversial move planned for St. Paul's Hospitalasthefirst of eightpublic forums gets underway Tuesday morning but operator Providence Health says there is no chance its plans to relocate the hospital will change.

Providence Healthsays it is committed to the $1.2 billionplan to move the hospital from itsBurrardStreet locationto Vancouver's False Creek Flats announced last year,because 60 per cent of patients come from outside of Vancouver.

"We're needing to consider the needs of Vancouver and of the entire province and we're able to do that in a much better way on the ... site we're moving to," said CEO Diane Doyle.

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But Vancouver-West End MLASpencer Chandra-Herbert says the move puts the health of patients many of whom are seniors at risk.

"To somebody who has specifically moved so they can be close, that's kind of insulting because they were assured right before the last election that their hospital would be rebuilt in place," he said.

Doyle calls the new St. Paul's Hospital one of the "most complex capital builds undertaken in Canada at this point in time."

And although the hospital relocation is not up for discussion, she says, Providence Health is looking for public input on a range of topics, such as easing traffic congestion to the new hospital, and ensuring appropriate care for seniors.

A series of eight public forums startTuesdaymorning at 10 a.m. PT and continueTuesday eveningat 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at St. Paul's Anglican Church on JervisStreet, Vancouver.

To listen to the full audio, click the link labelled:New St. Paul's Hospital public forums.