Interior Health
KAMLOOPS – Construction has begun on a new operating room and related support areas at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) that, once complete, will provide Kamloops-area patients with enhanced access to surgical services.
“The surgeons and nurses at Royal Inland do a great job each and every day in providing quality care to the patients they serve and they will soon have access to a state-of-the-art operating room,” said Health Minister Terry Lake.
“I’m excited that construction for this project is now under way, as the surgical unit provides a critical service to patients in the region,” said Todd Stone, Kamloops South-Thompson MLA. “Future plans call for the eventual construction of a new surgical tower at RIH.”
While the project revolves around the addition of an operating theatre to the current surgical unit at RIH, the renovation also encompasses services and space that support surgical procedures. There will be upgrades to biomedical engineering and respiratory areas at RIH, as well as the addition of four beds for use after surgery, in the post-anesthetic recovery area. New equipment will outfit the new OR, and a new equipment storage area will be created on the surgical unit through a conversion of existing space dedicated to the operating suites.
The new OR will be designated for elective procedures, and will become the ninth OR at the hospital. Of the current ORs, seven are for elective surgeries and one is reserved for emergency surgeries. Each elective theatre can perform four to five procedures per day, depending on the surgery, or approximately 20-25 per week.
Construction will be completed in four phases, with completion anticipated in spring 2015.
The OR project capital cost is approximately $3.6 million, and will be shared between the Ministry of Health, Interior Health, the Thompson Regional Hospital District (TRHD) and the RIH Foundation.