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Montreal Super-Hospital Alternatives
superhospital super-hospital super-hôpital méga-hôpital MUHC McGill CHUM hospitals university hospital renewal James Farquhar MD
Presented by: The Coalition of Physicians for Social Justice -
December 2003 - Updated Alternative to Super-Hospital emphasizes Children's Services - see new web-site www.superhospital.info for pictures of new wings to be added to Montreal General and Montreal Children's Hospitals as part of the "Super-Network Solution", which would cost only $420 million.
Montreal super-hospitals are NOT the priority for Quebec health expenses - July 21, 2003 (day of Health Minister's announcement of partial funding for projects similar to the superhospitals). This text includes a list of false beliefs often expressed about the superhospitals.
Les Mégahôpitaux proposés pour Montréal NE SONT PAS la priorité parmi les dépenses pour la santé du Québec ! - 21 juillet 2003 (avant les propos du ministre de la Santé sur un financement partiel pour des projets semblable aux mégahôpitaux.) Y compris une liste de fausses croyances souvent exprimées au sujet des mégahôpitaux.
The (Montreal) Gazette's investigative journalism (February 2003) - a dozen articles - suggest that the Superhospital idea is not super at all.
Shriners Hospital for Children need not pull out of Montreal - thanks to "new wing" solution.
Superhospitals are NOT good for the economy - but investing in home care is !
Myths and facts about the McGill Superhospital
It costs $230 million just to use the Glen Yards site at all - before adding any construction ! Is that a good deal ?
MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUPERHOSPITALS: - Older articles
Read this article or jump to a list of other articles
McGILL SUPERHOSPITAL -- NOT A SPENDING PRIORITY
FOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLE IN QUEBEC
From 2002
Click here for articles about the CHUM - the other planned Superhospital, to cost about $2 billion.
McGill's "Super-Hospital" project, of which the full version was to cost $2.2 billion, is not really a priority for the health or pride of English-speaking Quebecers, according to surveys and common sense. And the French-language equivalent project, called the CHUM, also seems bound to be put on the shelf.
McGill University hospitals have been pushing since 1993 for public money to build a totally new hospital, often called the "Superhospital", near downtown Montreal. This would completely replace five hospitals which are now functioning well: the Montreal General, Royal Victoria, Montreal Children's, Montreal Chest, and Montreal Neurological Hospitals.
This ambitious project would cost $2.2 billion -- more than six times as much as the most comparable Canadian hospital renewal project, in Toronto. The MUHC used a smaller figure, $1.2 billion, as the estimated cost until October 2002, when it admitted that the real cost would be at least $2.2 billion for its vision of a new hospital on the Glen Yards site.
That Toronto cost is $350 million for renovation and some new construction in the Toronto Hospital, a "merged hospital" using the Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospital buildings.
The $2.2 billion McGill price tag is also about five times as high as the most comparable "total hospital replacement" project in the world -- Georges-Pompidou hospital centre in Paris, France. The Paris hospital (1220 beds) was built in the last several years for $450 million Canadian -- and even then, its brand-new ventilation system had to be overhauled because it spread Legionnaire's disease, an often-fatal kind of pneumonia.
In Paris, this new hospital was also criticized as unnecessary, built in the wrong place, and built at an "exorbitant" cost. (1)
However, in Paris, the new building was almost completely financed by selling the old hospital buildings, because Paris real-estate is so desirable. In Montreal, selling the old hospitals is expected to pay for less than 5 per cent of the construction costs.
We could have a great "super" hospital renewal for McGill for just $300 or $400 million. To find out more, please click here.
See these articles for more information:
It is sad that an institution like McGill is trying to demand loyalty from
English-speaking Quebecers, about the Superhospital, for such a selfish reason --
for the convenience and comfort of its doctors. We can be very happy with a
hospital renewal for $300 or $400 million, but McGill has refused to study such an
option. Let's not be surprised when the government -- PQ or Liberal -- puts the $2.2
billion Superhospital on the shelf and asks McGill to go back to the drawing board.
That is when McGill will really need our support -- when its doctors and other staff
will have to work out their inter-hospital differences instead of whining for a $2.2
billion building to save them from the work of "merging". Let's be loyal to McGill --
but to the enduring institution, and not a hyped-up, public-relations, marketing kind
of idea that we cannot possibly afford in this decade.
For all that, congratulations and best wishes to the fine McGill staff and leaders who
have pumped so much energy and creativity into an interesting idea. In doing so,
they have helped bring all those hospitals together. The next step, making a realistic
and economical hospital-renewal plan, may come only after a disappointment about
"no big new building." Getting a $300 million commitment out of the Quebec
government is a pretty big achievement! Bravo, and let's get to work planning a
really "super" hospital renewal solution !
To be fair, check out the web-sites for the MUHC and the MUHC foundation. They
are long on "vision" and dream, but short on plans to finance these visions.
We need your comments, suggestions -- positive or negative -- to keep our web-site factual and reliable, and responsive to your needs. Please do write a brief message, and include your e-mail if you want to know when new information is posted. Thanks !
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www.superhospital.org is a web-site published by James Farquhar MD, of Montreal
Notes about sources of information
1. Three articles in La Presse (Montréal) the same day, Jan. 6, 2001, by Marie-Claude Girard:
a. "Naissance chaotique d'un "CHUM" parisien": On croyait le futur Centre hospitalier universiatire de Montréal déjà riche en controverse avec ses querelles de chapelles et ses discussions interminables autour de l'emplacement dunouveau bâtiment. "Je le croirai quand je l'aurai vu..." On disait la même chose à Paris, jusqu'à l'ouverture du nouvel hôpital ultramoderne Georges-Pompidou, que La Presse a récemment visité. Son histoire pourrait bien être celle du CHUM. Souhaitons qu'elle soit moins laborieuse.
b. L'hôpital sans papier: Après la rigolade, les détracteurs pourraient déchanter
c. Une lutte syndicale pour préserver un hôpital
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