VICTORIA -- British Columbia's Minister of Health has announced a plan to develop a new health-care centre for children with complex care needs in the province.
Adrian Dix made the announcement Monday at the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children in Vancouver, which is the future site of the planned B.C. Children's Complex Care Transition Centre.
"Better care is on the way for children with complex care needs," Dix said. "British Columbia has to be on the leading edge of care for children with complex care needs."
The minister said the government has approved an initial concept plan for the new development. Once funding and plans for the new centre are finalized, the existing Sunny Hill centre would move to the BC Children's Hospital, Dix said.
“While other jurisdictions in Canada offer similar services through separate programs, this will be the first centre in the country to provide such a comprehensive range of supports for children with medical complexity at a single site,” the health minister said.
The health ministry says children with complex needs often require supports that are challenging for caregivers to provide from home. The new complex care centre transition centre is intended to serve as a stepping-stone between acute hospital care and community or home care.
Patients under 19 years of age would be able to access a range of care at the new centre, from assessment, examination and treatment to education and research.
“Nearly 8,000 children with complex medical and physical needs have accessed BC Children’s Hospital services in the past two years, and that population is only expected to grow,” said Benoit Morin, president and CEO of the Provincial Health Services Authority.
