Royal Columbian Hospital

Providing expert care to the province’s most seriously ill or injured

As B.C.’s oldest hospital and one of its busiest, Royal Columbian Hospital is the only hospital in B.C. with trauma, cardiac care, neurosurgery, high-risk obstetrics, neonatal intensive care and acute mental health care all on one site.

Features

The Royal Columbian Hospital redevelopment project is a multi-million, multi-phase project that will increase the hospital’s capacity, introduce advanced medical technologies and improve the health care environment for patients, staff and medical staff.

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The improvements will upgrade and expand the hospital through more beds and operating rooms, new technology and equipment to improve timely access to tests and procedures to support better health outcomes.

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When complete, the project will transform almost all aspects of the hospital to better meet the needs of people across the region. See the project overview.

View the project floor diagram.

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Timeline

Since the beginning of the project, we have consulted with a variety of individuals and groups, including patients, families, staff, medical staff, community partners and Indigenous partners, on the plans to modernize Royal Columbian Hospital.

Phase one (2016 - 2020)

The first phase included the opening of a 75-bed Mental Health and Substance Use Wellness Centre and a new energy centre.

Phase two (2020 - 2025)

The second phase, under construction, includes a new acute care tower and an expanded 75-bay Emergency Department with a satellite Medical Imaging Unit. There will be more beds, more operating rooms on a surgical and interventional ‘superfloor’, advanced technologies and equipment and site enhancements, including an underground parkade and rooftop heliport.

Phase three (2023 - 2026)

The third phase will upgrade and expand areas in existing buildings to support the beds and services in phase two. It will include expanded clinical support spaces such as pharmacy, laboratory, medical imaging and food services.

“We are creating a space where our dedicated staff and medical professionals can provide compassionate care to thousands more patients each year.”

Dr. Victoria Lee, president and chief executive officer

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News

Royal Columbian Hospital redevelopment February project update

Clinical previews have begun. Progress has been made on all floors. Road work at the west end of Sherbrooke Street continues and is on track to be completed by the end of April.

Bringing together New Westminster’s past, present and future

Read on to learn about unique design features and the efforts to reflect the community in the exciting Royal Columbian Hospital Redevelopment project.

Public notices

Royal Columbian Hospital redevelopment project: Construction notice

Service lane temporary sidewalk closure update

Frequently asked questions

What are the benefits of the redevelopment?
The key benefits include:

More capacity: The redevelopment will add approximately 50 per cent more beds.

Patient-centred care: Planning and design for the redevelopment focus on the patient experience while in hospital, including more single-patient private rooms and a healing environment that features natural light and outdoor spaces.

Modern technology and equipment: The redevelopment will introduce new technology and medical equipment that will support an improved care experience for our patients.

Enhanced services: The redevelopment will add a new, larger Emergency Department that will feature a satellite medical imaging unit, among other improvements to ensure our patients receive the services they need for urgent and emergent care concerns.

Enhanced safety: The redevelopment will include features to enhance staff and patient safety, such as: separate routes for patients and staff; larger operating rooms; standardized layouts; and improved lines of sight from care stations.

Better infection control: The redevelopment will include the latest infection prevention and control requirements to improve safety such as operating rooms that include UV light to disinfect and kill pathogens.
What are the construction hours?

Construction hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (excluding statutory holidays). The City of New Westminster has granted a noise bylaw exemption to permit a 7 a.m., rather than a 9 a.m., start on Saturdays until May 31, 2025.
How is parking at the site?

To help ensure parking is available for patients, visitors, staff and medical staff, we added 450 parking spaces with the opening of the Mental Health and Substance Use Wellness Centre in 2020. We will add another 350+ parking spaces with the opening of the acute care tower in 2025. We encourage people to use other forms of transportation to get to the hospital. Royal Columbian is the only hospital in the province that is conveniently located next to a SkyTrain station.

Construction workers are not allowed to park on public streets within a one kilometre radius of the hospital. Workers are regularly reminded of the parking regulations, there is signage indicating construction parking is not allowed, and there are periodic checks of vehicles in the neighbourhood. If you see a construction parking violation, contact Parking@newwestcity.ca
What is being done to address construction traffic?

Construction vehicles are not allowed to drive through the neighbourhood. Please notify us if you see a construction vehicle in the neighbourhood and we will address this as soon as possible.

Truck staging is permitted within the barriers on the south side of Sherbrooke St. by the hospital, as per the traffic management plan approved by the City of New Westminster.

Updates

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Contact us

If you are interested in more information about the project or have questions, please email us at RCHRedevelopment@fraserhealth.ca

Careers

We’re hiring for a variety of health careers at Royal Columbian Hospital.

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