Now that shovels are finally in the ground for the new Surrey hospital, the Cloverdale Chamber director is breathing a sigh of relief.
Scott Wheatley, the executive director of the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce, said he always knew the construction would begin, but it means something totally different when you actually see it happen.
“Everything of value starts with a first step,” Wheatley told the Cloverdale Reporter. “Seeing the shovels pushed into the ground signified the beginning of a new future for Cloverdale.”
And while the Surrey Board of Trade’s Anita Huberman has called for changes to the new hospital construction plans, Wheatley said he disagrees.
“I think ‘a’ hospital is a great start,” he said. “We need a hospital now and any changes will delay the construction. It’s already delayed until 2030.”
SEE ALSO: Province breaks ground on new Cloverdale hospital
Huberman, the Surrey Board of Trade’s president and CEO, argued in a media release Sept. 12 that the Cloverdale hospital needs to include services for trauma, maternity, heart attacks, and strokes.
The Cloverdale hospital, in its current form, will add 168 more beds, which includes both medical and surgical beds and the new hospital will also have high acuity beds and medical oncology beds. There will also be an emergency department, the second for Surrey after SMH.
“But Surrey needs more health-care infrastructure,” Huberman argued. “While we wait for this hospital to be built, exponential population growth continues.”
Wheatley countered that with skyrocketing inflation and an acute labour shortage, now is not the time to be going back to the drawing board.
“With increasing construction costs, and shortages of qualified staff at present, building a huge hospital with every amenity, could create an expensive empty shell of a building.”
He acknowledged that we must plan for future needs, but building for the present has to be taken into account.
“I understand the design includes plans for future expansion as well,” Wheatley added. “I support the Province’s approach. In its present form, this hospital is a huge shot in the arm for Cloverdale and the surrounding communities.”
The hospital was originally expected to cost $1.66 billion, but that number has ballooned to $2.88 billion. The completion date for the project has been pushed back to 2029, from 2027, and it’s expect to open to the pubic in 2030. The Provincial Government cited inflation and delays in companies’ abilities to get workers and materials to complete projects as factors in both.
