The Hogan Court health care project was criticized for proceeding too quickly. So why does it seem to have now slowed in its tracks?
In February, Auditor General Kim Adair lambasted the Houston government for moving too fast — without due diligence with respect to the cost of the property or the potential cost of the renovations — in its purchase of an unfinished hotel at 21 Hogan Court in West Bedford. The aim was to convert the hotel to a health care facility for patients occupying a hospital bed while waiting for a nursing home placement.
Adair said while she appreciated the province’s “sense of urgency and willingness to address problems in the health system,” it isn’t a valid reason to ignore “value for money.”
Wrote Adair:
This approach should not promote a culture where expediency takes precedence over appropriate due diligence. Addressing the issues requires a balanced approach which acknowledges the urgency of the crisis but also upholds value for money. [emphasis added]
Health Minister Michelle Thompson and the Premier Tim Houston defended the $34.5 million the province spent (about three times the property’s assessed value) to buy the hotel from Cresco Holdings.
When the decision was made in December 2022, there were approximately 250 patients waiting in HRM hospitals who didn’t need those valuable hospital beds. Thompson and Houston insist the Bedford facility will be ready to receive discharged patients “years before that would have happened if the facility had been built from scratch.”
Perhaps. But given the work still to be done, the facility is already at least six months behind the initial forecast completion date of January 2024.
And to the outside observer, there doesn’t appear to be much renovation activity taking place inside the building. Last week there was one pickup truck parked in front and three vehicles behind the building, where a handful of workers were installing an exterior metal staircase.
Build Nova Scotia has a $10.6 million contract with Lindsay Construction to manage the renovation project.
The Examiner asked Build Nova Scotia to explain why so few people appear to be working on the interior renovations to accommodate 68 future patients. And the Examiner asked for the cost estimate to complete the project, following up on the auditor’s comment no estimate was available when she asked the question in November of 2023.
Build Nova Scotia punted the Examiner’s inquiry to the Department of Health & Wellness, and spokesperson Khalehla Perrault responded that “Renovation work continues on site as appropriate, and government will provide a total cost once complete.”
That response doesn’t answer the questions and the Health Department declined to provide additional clarification.
Perhaps the March 27 meeting of the Public Accounts Committee — which will call witnesses to discuss the Hogan Court purchase and renovations — will provide a clearer update.
As of Friday, Lindsay Construction did not respond to a request for comment.
Cost of renovations still secret
The province’s capital budget for 2024-24 contains $13 million to convert the unfinished hotel. This is in addition to $15 million earmarked for renovations in 2023, but it’s unclear how much of that $15 million was spent.
The report from the auditor general said no major renovations could begin until the Office of the Fire Marshal completed its work. It was December 7, 2023 before the Fire Marshal signed off on the final building plans.
Four months later, it’s reasonable to ask how much interior renovation work is, or is not, underway at the present time.
Asked when the building is expected to be ready, Perrault did provide an answer.
“The West Bedford Transitional Care Centre project [Hogan Court] is estimated to be complete this year,” said Perrault. “This first-of-its-kind facility for Nova Scotia will add 68 beds to our healthcare system faster than building it from scratch.”
December. Hopefully this controversial building will open by the end of 2024 and provide a temporary home for those discharged, as well as free up desperately needed hospital beds for patients who need them the most.
Meanwhile, the construction of a second proposed transitional care facility to be built at Bayers Lake near the new Community Outpatient Centre has been put on hold. Perrault said the government is “looking at options for the site.”
Is the Auditor General allowed (and resourced) to audit the internal finances of Nova Scotia Health and the IWK yet? If not, why not?
How on earth do we know if their financial and management practices as part of our provincial health system – which costs around 50% of our program spending after debt servicing – is being spent most wisely and with least waste? This is our money and our health and we have every right to know.
Are governments afraid of us knowing?
So here we are again, light is shone on a problem and the following happens.
1) politicians regardless of what stripe run for the exits and sudden have amnesia of the course of events.
2) the decision makers, the overpaid, under worked NS Health Care administration cannot /will not provide an answer or for God sake the truth!
3) the solution to the health care problem in Nova Scotia is not the amount of money spent (government has spent billions of dollars in the last decades, the results things are NO BETTER!
4) What can be agreed the problem is NOT THE nurses, support positions (medical and non-medical) or doctors.
5) THE PROBLEM IS HOW THE MONEY IS SPENT (sound familiar) – now hire an outside firm who have experience of running complex, multi-faceted organization (think like a Canadian Chartered bank ) RELACE YOU ADMINISTRATORS, stand back (there will some short-term pain) and watch the results. Oh, there will be some job loss, but realistically these people have not been doing their jobs for at least a decade, so really what is the loss.
6) We, all Nova Scotians have to take some responsibility for own health, living better, realigning existing patients with the best solutions i.e. matching existing patients with the best resource to look after for both people with and without a primary medical person. Yes, that means some people with doctors being assigned to nurse practioners/physican assistants given the care required. Then assign our more severe cases to the highly trained physicians and pay them to look after. Look what nickeling and diming the doctors has gotten us … yep on the road to disaster.
Timmy feel free, to donate some $$ to the IWK or another foundation for the ideas because you are spending mega dollars and like previous premiers, results as not there see # 5 above.
Is it too much to ask that if the government cut corners in due diligance at the start of this fiasco that they continue the break neck speed to open the facility. Now is not the time to slam on the breaks.