In about five months, when Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness campus (Peel Memorial) opens its doors, it will not only relieve some of the existing patient-gridlock at Brampton Civic Hospital’s (BCH)’s emergency department, but also offer residents quick access to resources to manage their chronic illnesses, officials said.

Also – pending approval from Queen’s Park – there’s a strong possibility the next phase of development at the new site could see the addition of hospital beds for overnight stays as well, confirmed Ann Ford, joint vice-president, facilities, redevelopment and information technology, William Osler Health System (Osler).

“This is phase one of a multi-plan development,” Ford explained, adding WOHS will be meeting Ministry of Health (MoH) officials in few weeks to discuss the next phase. “Phase two does bring some (inpatient) beds on to the site. We’re now in the process of reviewing a lot of clinical data and demographic data to try and determine exactly what kind of beds we need.”

Construction on the 600,000-square-foot campus on Lynch Street is expected to be finished in a few weeks, with the centre fully up-and-running by the end of February 2017.

The new state-of-the-art “ambulatory hospital” will feature outpatient services such as day surgery, dialysis, diagnostic services, mental health and addictions services, seniors’ wellness and family health. The campus will also house an urgent and emergent care department, Ford explained.

“There are, on average 20 to 25 per cent of folks who come to BCH now whose sickness is not as severe as, say, those who are brought in by an ambulance,” Ford said. “By opening up the urgent care centre (at Peel Memorial), we’re going to be able to help those that don’t necessarily need to go to a full-fledged emergency room see a physician quickly, receive treatment and then go home. By opening the urgent care centre, we plan on moving a lot of volume out of Brampton Civic to Peel Memorial.”

Highlights of the new campus, proclaimed to be one-of-a-kind in Ontario:

• State-of-the-art diagnostic and imaging department

• A full contingent of physicians, nurses and radiologists, offering the same level of clinical care as those at BCH

• Programs/clinics manned by nutritionists, physicians and nurses to help residents manage chronic illness