New Emergency Department funding for Scarborough and Rouge Hospital

People in Scarborough will soon have faster access to emergency care with shorter wait times thanks to the redevelopment and expansion of the emergency department at the Scarborough and Rouge Hospital’s Centenary site.

Premier Wynne was at the hospital today to announce that the much-needed redevelopment project is moving forward.

“The Centenary site is 50 years old. The people of Scarborough need faster access to the latest medical technology,” explained Premier Wynne. “That’s why this redevelopment of the emergency department is so essential. The redevelopment of the Scarborough and Rouge Hospital’s Centenary site emergency department will give people in Scarborough peace of mind, knowing that critical life-saving services in their area are up to date and accessible for years to come.”

The project will replace aging infrastructure at the Scarborough and Rouge Hospital’s Centenary site with the latest in emergency medicine design and technology, and address overcrowding in the emergency department by expanding the hospital’s capacity to treat more patients. The redevelopment is part of the ongoing integration of the Scarborough Hospital, Rouge Valley Health System and Lakeridge Health.

With the expansion of the Centenary emergency department, families in the community will have faster access to care that meets their growing needs, close to home.

Last year, Ontario committed $5 million toward the planning of future construction projects at Scarborough and Rouge Hospital and Lakeridge Health. This planning funding led to today’s announcement that the project to expand the emergency department at the Centenary site is going ahead.

“I would like to thank the Government of Ontario and Minister Hoskins for making the health and wellness of the residents of Scarborough a priority,” said Elizabeth Buller, President and CEO of Scarborough and Rouge Hospital. “The new emergency department, when completed, will greatly increase our ability to provide emergency care for our community in an environment that best supports patient privacy and confidentiality and safety.”

This expansion is part of the province’s plan to strengthen Ontario’s health care system and ensure that health services meet people’s needs as communities change. The plan includes an additional $9 billion commitment to support health care construction projects across the province, bringing the investment in hospital infrastructure to more than $20 billion over the next 10 years.

Boosting access to high-quality health care in Scarborough is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.

Quick Facts

  • In 2017-18, the province invested $100 million to open more than 1,200 new hospital beds to increase capacity in hospitals in advance of the flu season. Scarborough and Rouge Hospital received 29 additional beds between November and March.
  • In August, the province announced its support for a modern, community-based dialysis facility in Scarborough which expands and improves care for those with chronic kidney disease.

About Scarborough and Rouge Hospital

At Scarborough and Rouge Hospital (SRH), a quality patient experience comes first. Affiliated with the University of Toronto, SRH consists of three hospital sites (Birchmount, General, and Centenary) and five satellite sites in Scarborough. SRH delivers a broad spectrum of health services to one of the most diverse communities in Canada, including a full-service Emergency Department at each site, advanced maternal and neonatal care in state-of-the-art birthing centres, and specialized paediatric services. SRH is home to a number of regional programs serving the central east Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and beyond, including nephrology, cardiac care, vascular surgery, and vision care, and is recognized as a centre of excellence in orthopaedic surgery, cancer care, and mental health.