THE premier's promise this week to upgrade St. Paul's Hospital is a disheartening example of treatment without a treatment plan.
Speaking to media Wednesday, Christy Clark announced - much as her government did two years ago - that the province had earmarked $500 million for renovations to the aging downtown facility. The idea makes a good sound bite, but it is far from the wisest approach to curing our ailing system.
Before the government commits vast sums to a single infrastructure project, it should take stock of all the province's assets, weigh its options, and hatch a holistic, carefully co-ordinated plan to ensure the biggest bang for our buck.
Just eight years ago, the organization that runs St. Paul's bought a tract of land near False Creek where it proposed to consolidate several of its aging facilities. Does it make more sense to replace all of these decaying buildings at once? Is a confined site in the West End the best location for a hospital, given the trajectory of demographics in the city? Could an alternative eliminate redundancies, smooth patient flow, reduce maintenance costs and better fit growing demand?
Critics have argued staff shortages and a lack of long-term care facilities are what's clogging ER's, rather than the age of the buildings they're in. Should these problems be tackled before we gussy up our hospitals?
Sadly, Clark's plan takes none of these issues into account; it appears aimed more at the health of her own re-election campaign.
Perhaps the idea will be revisited in 11 months' time.
