By Canadian Press

New Nanaimo hospital ICU to take patients soon, replacing one of Canada’s worst units

Jun 19, 2023 | 12:32 PM

NANAIMO, B.C. — A new intensive care unit in Nanaimo, British Columbia, will start taking patients later this month, replacing an aging unit once called one of the worst ICUs in Canada.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says the new 12-bed intensive care unit at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital will officially open to patients on June 28.

Dix was in Nanaimo today for an opening ceremony for the unit that will replace what he says is an outdated and undersized ICU, a10-bed facility built in 1970.

He says the new $41.6-million unit includes larger single-patient rooms, overhead patient lifts and a family consulting room.

Sheila Malcolmson, Nanaimo MLA and mental health and addictions minister, says the old ICU was reported in 2013 as one of “the most dangerous” in Canada and the new unit is greatly needed in the central Vancouver Island city.

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An external review that looked at three of Island Health’s ICUs said the physical condition of the Nanaimo unit was “by far the worst ICU we have seen in Canada.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2023.

The Canadian Press