As the opening of a new hospital in the Cowichan Valley gets closer, many questions are still left unanswered on how the old site will be used.
According to Island Health and several government agencies, there are currently no plans for the old facility, and no plan has been drawn up as to what will be done with it now.
They say the decisions around the property and structure aren’t high on the list of priorities and everything is being done to ensure construction of the new site goes according to plan.
“Island Health’s main focus right now is building the new Cowichan District Hospital,” they said in an email. “We are aware of the interest in future plans for CDH and plan to hold community consultations in the future.”
North Cowichan mayor Rob Douglas says he knows there’s a lot of interest in the facility from the public but future decisions are up to Island Health, and council plans to be part of the discussions.
“There have been a lot of great ideas in the community, but until Island Health kicks off the process for accepting that feedback from municipalities we’re in a holding mode,” he says.
He says suggestions around using the facility for mental health and addictions have been circulating in the community and that is just one of the many ideas he has heard.
“It’s something we do need in the community,” he says. “We know there is a shortage of subsidized beds, and it would be great to see through retrofitting the site, however, I’m not sure what is possible in terms of the current state of the site.”
Construction of the new site is expected to be done next year, and open to patients in 2027.
Douglas says he would think consultation on the old site would happen shortly after the new site is completed.
“Island Health would have to answer that, but I would expect them to have the capacity and resources to shift their attention to discussing with the community what will happen with the old site,” he says.
The current hospital opened in 1967, and according to the province, the new facility will be three times larger than the current one.
