Rocky Mountain House Health Centre will receive provincial funding in an effort to lower wait times at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
Renovations will be done at the Rocky Mountain House facility, so it can perform more endoscopy procedures and create more space in the Red Deer hospital to focus on more complex surgeries.
Low-risk surgeries will also be moved out of Red Deer hospital, to be offered in Innisfail, Stettler, Ponoka and Olds.
The funding is part of a $100-million investment to help hospitals across the province upgrade their operating rooms to provide thousands more surgeries, a government press release said Wednesday.
“Albertans deserve a world-class health system that delivers the right care, in the right setting, at the right time,” said Premier Jason Kenney.
“This funding from Budget 2020 will drive down wait times with necessary and overdue upgrades to hospital operating rooms and equipment across the province.
“Ultimately, we will make sure our health-care system has the capacity and the staff to deliver the best access to surgery in Canada.”
The $100 million in capital funding will support a number of other projects, including upgrades to 12 operating rooms at Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre.
Low-risk surgeries will be moved out of the Foothills hospital and offered in Canmore, High River and independent surgical facilities in Calgary, relieving pressures on city hospitals with long wait lists.
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