VICTORIA GENERAL HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

· The emergency department at Victoria General Hospital was completed, along with the rest of the hospital, in 1983.

· The original VGH emergency department was built to accommodate 10,000 visits a year. With a growing and aging population, annual visits to the emergency department have increased to 36,000 in 2006/07.

· The new emergency department will be located on the north side of the hospital, closer to the Helmcken Road/Watkiss Way intersection. This provides a greater area for construction and will allow the new emergency department to be built without disrupting current emergency services.

· The current emergency department is 530 square meters. The new emergency department will be three times this size, at 1,660 square meters.

· The new emergency department will have a total of 35 treatment bays, up from the current 20. This includes:

o 11 acute care (currently 14);

o Two trauma (currently one);

o One pediatric trauma (currently none specific designated);

o Three triage holding (currently none specifically designated);

o Three pediatric, including a pediatric secure room (currently there are none);

o Seven fast-track bays (currently fast-track beds are only available in the evenings, after Surgical Short Stay’s daily activities are completed);

o Three procedure rooms (same as currently);

o Two gynecology rooms (currently one); and

o Three isolation rooms, including a pediatric isolation room (currently one).

· The seven ‘fast-track’ beds will be a treatment area where patients with minor afflictions (‘the walking wounded’) can be treated and discharged efficiently.

· The gynecology rooms will offer greater privacy and dignity for women, in particular women undergoing an exam after they have been sexually assaulted.

· The current emergency department has one main entrance. The new emergency department will have three separate entrances: one for ambulatory patients, one for patients arriving by ambulance, and a third entrance for patients with highly infectious diseases who can be placed directly in an isolation room without putting other patients at risk. This area will also be equipped with a decontamination shower, which will allow individuals exposed to chemicals to be decontaminated without impact to the rest of the emergency department.

· The newly constructed emergency department will be built to the latest infection control standards to reduce the opportunity for the spread of infections.

· The new emergency department will serve a population of approximately 350,000 in the Greater Victoria area and over 700,000 people throughout VIHA, which is relevant as VGH serves as the regional trauma centre for Vancouver Island.

· When the new emergency department is completed in 2009, the space currently occupied by the emergency will be reconfigured to provide other patient care services.

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Media contact:	Marisa Adair Communications Director Ministry of Health 250 920-8500 (cell) 250 952-1887 (media line)	Suzanne Germain VIHA Communications 250 370-8270

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