He says the building has safety issues and he's particularly concerned about how it would hold up in an earthquake

Mayor Malcolm Brodie says his city is still waiting for upgrades to the hospital after Burnaby received $1.3 billion

RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – When is Richmond Hospital getting its promised and much needed acute care tower? Mayor Malcom Brodie and his council have written a letter to Premier John Horgan asking for clarification.

“We’re just asking the question, ‘How it’s going?’ We understand that the government is working on a business plan and then taking it to [the] treasury board. We’re just asking about that process, what we can expect and when,” he says.

That request for information on whether the project is on schedule comes after the province pledged $1.3 billion last week to revamp Burnaby’s hospital. Horgan said at a news conference on Sept. 3 that hospital would be entirely redeveloped and fully modernized with the latest technology.

He had said in March of last year that Richmond Hospital would be getting a new acute care tower. The concept design for the addition was complete at the time, and the project moved into the business planning phase shortly after. The premier said then that it would be done before 2020.

And Brodie wants to know just when his city is getting that promised tower.

“The province is well aware of the need. My concern was that it was being put on hold because of the Burnaby announcement. So my council wants the answers to those questions,” he says.

“We just want confirmation that the Richmond project remains on schedule and we can look forward to some positive results in due course.”

Brodie says Richmond’s hospital has a significant number of issues.

“Ours was built over 50 years ago, it is obsolete in every way. The equipment that is in there because of capital upgrades by donation have provided wonderful equipment, but the fact is that the building itself is obsolete. There’s safety issues with it and overall it is long past needing an acute care tower.”

He is particularly concerned about how the building itself would hold up in an earthquake.

The letter needs to be approved by council before being sent to the premier.