When a hospital is planning on a major capital project, the provincial government would be responsible for 60 per cent of the cost, while the remaining 40 per cent would be paid for through regional district hospital taxes. (Joe Pugh / CHLY 101.7fm)

The call for better cardiac care in Nanaimo may soon be answered, as the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District has voted to fully fund a catheterization lab in Nanaimo.

The need for a catheterization lab, or cath lab, in Nanaimo has been a major point of conversation in the city, and local politicians in the mid-island area are tired of waiting for the Government of B.C. to finally listen.

At a Nanaimo Regional Hospital District (NRHD) board meeting on Tuesday, December 9th, board members voted all in favour of using $50 million to fund 100 per cent of a cardiac care lab project.

Nanaimo city council and chair of the NRHD, Janice Perrino, told CHLY’s Joe Pugh that better cardiac care is something they have been pushing for for several years.

“One of the pieces of the tertiary program that we're lacking, which is one of the more important ones, is the cardiac catheterization lab,” Perrino said. “So what we've tried to do throughout this past year is help the government see their way clear to giving us the project for the hospital expansion, including the cath lab.”

When a hospital is planning on a major capital project, the provincial government would be responsible for 60 per cent of the cost, while the remaining 40 per cent would be paid for through regional district hospital taxes.

Major capital projects would include a catheterization lab or a new patient tower that the hospital board is also saving funds for.

“We know the government is struggling to help finance these big projects, and we know we need these big projects. So what we're saying is we need it, we know you want to help, but there's only so much that you, the province, can do,” she said. “So let us help you by doing the business plan, because that's going to take a minimum of six to 12 months to do in itself. We can pay for that up front, get it done. Then, should the first phase be the cath lab, we would, in fact, pay for that.”

Perrino said that this motion would mean that if the province approves the major upgrade project for the hospital, the NRHD is prepared to pay 100 per cent of the cath lab upfront.

“So what that means is that out of the 40 per cent, we're not going to pay extra,” she said. “We're going to pay our portion, but we will pay upfront for the cath lab to be completed. If it's the first phase of the hospital expansion, it's a much smaller phase, and could be done much sooner.”

The board also voted to move $50 million into the NRHD Capital Plan for the cath lab project. Perrino said that while they will be moving the $50 million, it is still unclear how much the project will cost.

“But it doesn't matter if the cath [lab] is $30 million, or $80 million, or $100 million, we'll be able to pay for it,” Perrino said. “We've just tucked over $50 million now into this other account, so that's not a problem, but we actually have $100 million saved so far to cover off our 40 per cent of the entire hospital expansion project, as well as the cath lab.”

Donna Hais, chairperson of the Fair Care Alliance, told CHLY she was pleased that the hospital board recognized the immediate need for better care in Nanaimo.

The Fair Care Alliance has been advocating for a new catheterization lab at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for several years now.

“The standard of care in Canada is that between a major heart attack and time to needle is 90 minutes, and currently, we do not meet that standard of care,” Hais said. “We are the largest population in Canada that does not meet that standard of care. That's why we believe the cath lab is the next major piece of infrastructure that needs to be invested in on the tertiary campus, that is, Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.”

Currently, the only two cath labs on Vancouver Island are in Victoria, with zero servicing the north and mid-island region. Most patients at any hospital north of the Malahat who experience a heart attack need to be transferred to a cath lab for care.

The north and mid-island region make up 51 per cent of the total population on the island.

The NRGH is one of three tertiary hospitals on Vancouver Island; the other two are in Victoria. Currently, the NRGH only offers one tertiary program at the hospital for kidney care.

“We are a designated tertiary center, and our hospital was built in 1962, so we are in desperate need of new infrastructure,” she said. “We are over capacity every single day. We are the busiest emergency room on Vancouver Island.”

Hais said that while they are also advocating for a new patient tower, a new cath lab should take priority.

“We're the oldest population in Canada,” she said. “The number one killer of Canadians is heart disease. This is critical; we need this infrastructure, and we need it now. We can't afford to wait until the province has its 60 per cent of funding.”

Hais said she applauds the hospital board for stepping up, as being one step closer to a cath lab means one step closer to saving more lives.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.