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BACKGROUNDER in Battle River-Wainwright
April 20, 2015
WAINWRIGHT HOSPITAL
The Wainwright Hospital was built in 1971. In addition to providing healthcare support and
assistance as needed with respect to CFB Wainwright, our community is a regional hub
supplying critical services for things like the cardiac wellness program, which relies entirely
on locally-funded equipment. The Wainwright Hospital has many problems including:
- Sewage backups
- Leaky roof
- Temperature control problems
- Difficulty getting hot water consistently out of the taps
Several times, the Wainwright Hospital has been listed among the province’s most urgent
priorities. In 2011-12, it was listed as the No. 2 priority overall. The 44-year-old building has
been characterized by the Health Authority as “not operationally efficient,” and the authority
has warned of deteriorating conditions that could see the facility completely closed.
The main elevator is so small it is difficult to get beds in and out. In the emergency
department, the four assessment rooms are very tiny, with doorways so narrow they are
frequently damaged by gurneys and other equipment as it is moved in and out.
When an inquiry was made under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, it was
learned that AHS recommendations for the Wainwright facility are as follows:
Replace the Wainwright Health Centre (WHC) to provide a mix of acute care, community services, and
continuing care. This will solve aging and failing infrastructure issues at the site and provide a better
facility for provision of clinical services. The preferred option is to construct a new health care centre
with a new continuing care centre on a green field site.
This project request was originally submitted in June 2010, then again in 2011 and 2012. A Master Plan
and Functional Program were completed by the East Central Health Region in 2008 which proposed a
replacement facility for Acute Care and Community Health Services. A Preliminary Business Case was
completed in 2010. A Functional Program Update was completed in January 2012.
The AHS report also states: “A delay in advancing the decision to proceed with the WHC
replacement will impact patient care and continue suboptimal [substandard] patient
experience. It has significant IPC [Infection Prevention Control] implications as well.”
Frustrated with the delays and broken promises, the residents of Wainwright undertook a
postcard blitz, sending messages such as: “Remember Us,” and “We’re tired of being polite”
to the government as part of an advocacy movement. In 2014, about 13,000 postcards were
sent to the PC government at the Legislature. Even so, the community remains with a
substandard facility and no plan to alleviate this serious, and growing, public health problem.
More Information: Wes Taylor — 780-842-4870
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