The Government of Saskatchewan announced Tuesday the new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford will include an integrated correctional facility to be built as part of the hospital construction project.
The new complex will include a 188-bed replacement for the existing 156-bed SHNB, and an adjoining 96-room correctional facility that will house both male and female adult offenders.
A government release states programming and treatment for the two populations will be separate. The project will proceed with a design-build-finance-maintain public-private partnership (P3) approach, with construction targeted to begin in summer 2015. The cost of the project could run anywhere from $175 to $250 million.
"I know that this has been a long wait for patients, family, staff and the community," Health Minister Dustin Duncan said at an official announcement at SHNB Tuesday morning.
The current building is more than 100 years old, has never been totally renovated and does not meet modern standards, said Duncan.
"The new SHNB will better meet the mental health needs of patients who require in-patient rehabilitation, ensuring they receive the care and support they need in a new and modern environment."
He said the new complex is incredibly important for the province and the Battlefords.
"People with mental health needs in our province deserve it," he said. "So do the exceptional staff who provide care and services here each and every day."
Corrections and Policing Minister Christine Tell said the new integrated facility will be built with a vision to provide important support for offenders living with mental health issues. She sees a secure therapeutic model correction facility, providing therapeutic services to the inmates with a goal of reducing recidivism, keeping the public safe and reducing victimization.
"Mental health and addictions are major drivers of cost and incarceration rates in our province and overcrowding in our facilities continues to be an ongoing concern," said Tell. "The new space will provide effective correctional programming for offenders, which will assist in reducing crime and contribute to public safety."
The capital construction cost will be determined through the competitive public-private partnership bidding process. Minister responsible for SaskBuilds, Don McMorris, said the RFQ (request for qualifications) would be issued Wednesday and the RFP (request for proposals) will probably go out in the fall, with work to begin next spring or summer.
"Building this new project through a public-private partnership will allow us to harness the best of private sector ingenuity and innovation, while also maximizing operational efficiencies," said McMorris. "The P3 process will not only deliver the new project on time and on budget, but it will also ensure it is properly maintained over the term of the agreement."
The new mental health hospital and correctional facility will be built on the existing SHNB grounds near the current 101-year-old hospital building, minimizing disruption to patients during construction. The government will continue to own the building and the ministries of Health, Justice and Central Services, as well as the Prairie North Health Region, will continue to be involved throughout the procurement process.
The new complex is expected to be completed in summer 2018.
According to information released by the provincial government, the ratio of male to female offenders within the new complex is being proposed as 64 cells for men, 16 cells for women, eight medical cells and eight special purpose (segregation) cells. The ratio is based on an internal review of offender populations.
The North Battleford Youth Centre, a secure custody facility currently physically connected to SHNB, and the Battlefords Community Corrections Centre, an open custody facility located on the hospital grounds, will both be closed. When that will be has yet to be determined. Drumming Hill Youth Centre, another open custody facility located on the grounds, will continue to operate. All three are male-only facilities.
A government backgrounder says the final report from a corrections facility study now underway is to be completed by spring of 2014 and it will be reviewed prior to making any decisions regarding the movement of offenders and any infrastructure changes that will be required. Once the closure dates are confirmed, Corrections and Policing and the Public Service Commission will work closely with staff and the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union to consider all possible options under the collective bargaining agreement.
Battlefords Community Corrections Centre is one of seven provincial adult corrections facilities in the province. The North Battleford Youth Centre and Drumming Hill are two of eight youth centres and camps in the province.
SHNB is Saskatchewan's only provincial psychiatric rehabilitation hospital and home to the province's Forensic Services program. Prairie North Health Region, which operates the hospital building on behalf of the Ministry of Health, is responsible for rehabilitation programming and treatment planning in SHNB. A new building has been a long time coming.
Prairie North Regional Health Authority board chair Bonnie O'Grady said, "Today's announcement is a clear path forward with timelines, with targets and deliverables."
She said it has been a long road of hope, excitement and participation, hard work and dedication, planning and "a lot of waiting."
"Now our goal is in sight - a new modern Saskatchewan hospital complex that meets the needs of our patients our families and our health care providers," said O'Grady.
Even before a study commissioned in 2004 recommended that a new building be constructed to replace the aging structure, there had been calls for a new Saskatchewan Hospital.
In August 2011, Premier Brad Wall came to Saskatchewan Hospital to announce the approval to replace it, with an increase in the number of beds from 156 to 188 for rehabilitation, forensics and reintegration. Completion was expected for 2015.
However no capital announcements were made in the following provincial budgets, and a process of Lean 3P events was undertaken involving patients, families, Prairie North Health Region staff and representatives from the Ministry of Justice in design planning. The focus of the 3P (production, preparation, process) events was to look at ways to design a new hospital with a patient-first approach.
O'Grady said their design work is being recognized and incorporated into the new hospital project.
"We know you put your heart and soul into that work of designing a new SHNB," said O'Grady. "Your input has been vital and your work is being rewarded."
The 3P work also explored potential efficiencies and sharing of services to ensure the best possible complex, both from a design and programming standpoint. Now sharing of services such as laundry, food and cleaning is part of the plan to include correctional services in the build.
Funding for the project will be procured through the P3 process. Responsible for that process is SaskBuilds, which was established as a Treasury Board Crown corporation in October 2012 and is responsible for leading a review of procurement options - traditional and alternative. Its focus is to help plan and manage pressing, large-scale infrastructure demands that are high cost (typically $100 million or more) and high priority.
SaskBuilds operates on the premise that these infrastructure demands cannot be met through conventional means alone in a timely and cost effective manner and may be candidates for alternative financing. SaskBuilds is currently working on three other projects - the Swift Current Long-Term Care Centre, the Regina Bypass and nine new joint-use elementary schools in the high growth communities of Regina, Martensville, Saskatoon and Warman.
Prairie North Health Region CEO David Fan said the wait for a new hospital has had some fearing it would never happen.
"I hope the announcement today does help to allay a lot of the fear, uncertainty and doubt," said Fan. "I have always been confident this government is committed to rebuilding Saskatchewan Hospital and today is an enormous step forward."
