Restructuring Supplemental Report attached

July 29, Toronto, Ontario -- The Health Services Restructuring Commission (HSRC) today issued the results of the independent review of the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital (TBRH) functional program.

HSRC Commissioner Don Thornton, a former Chairman of Oshawa General Hospital said, "Based on the review of the independent consultant, the Thunder Bay District Health Council and our own consultant, we believe that the functional program is based on many planning assumptions and cost estimates which are not reasonable and are inconsistent with established health care facility planning guidelines and practices when redeveloping and expanding an existing site.

"The Commission remains convinced that its direction to consolidate all acute care services on the Port Arthur site and close the McKellar site is appropriate and should be implemented by the TBRH. We will advise the Minister of Health that we have reiterated our direction to the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital to submit a functional program to redevelop the Port Arthur site."

In June, the Commission engaged Parkin Architects Limited to assess the planning assumptions used by the HSRC and the TBRH to arrive at their respective conclusions.
The independent review found that:

• The HSRC's assumptions to determine the average space allocations, including cost estimates, for the programs and services to be provided at the redeveloped Port Arthur site are generally reasonable and consistent with industry practice.
  
• The assessment and conclusions reached by the Commission's consultants in their review of the Hospital's functional program against the Commission's assumptions are generally reasonable and consistent with industry practice.
  
• The assumptions used by the Hospital to determine average space allocations, including cost estimates for the programs and services to be provided at the redeveloped Port Arthur site appear to be excessive and inconsistent with industry practice, when renovating and expanding an existing site. The Hospital's analysis assumes that the redevelopment of the Port Arthur site would be equivalent to a new Hospital.

"The Commission is prepared to recommend to the Minister of Health that the capital estimates should be revised to reflect the conclusions of Parkin Architects Limited concerning the amount of new construction and renovations and the estimated costs at the Port Arthur site," said Mr. Thornton.

"We believe $84 to $89 million is more than a patch and paint job.' It represents a significant redevelopment of the Port Arthur site whereby 60 per cent of the hospital will be new. These new areas will accommodate the high-traffic programs and high-technology services necessary to provide quality care to the community in what we believe will be a state-of-the-art facility," he added.

The HSRC met with the TBRH Board of Directors to present its conclusions and the findings of the independent consultant. The Board has until August 5^th, 1997 to indicate to the Commission its intention to comply with the HSRC's October 1996 directions to consolidate its services and redevelop the Port Arthur site of the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital.

The HSRC is a group of individuals appointed by the government of Ontario to redesign the Ontario health system. It is an independent agency made up of medical professionals, hospital administrators, academic health science professionals, former hospital board members and other health professionals who are working together with communities across the province to make our publicly-funded health services better.