HSC Foundation taking first step towards urologic centre construction

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This article was published 12/01/2022 (1429 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new facility at the Health Sciences Centre expected to slash wait times for the treatment of urological issues, as well as surgery waits across the board, will cost at least $8.4 million.

The Manitoba Urologic Centre is slated to open by the fall of 2023. The facility will treat kidney stones, prostate issues, urinary obstructions and certain bladder cancers, among other urological diseases.

The Health Sciences Centre Foundation said it expects a request for proposals on construction of the new centre to be issued Wednesday.

Construction costs and equipment acquisition will be funded by the foundation and its donors.

The province, through Shared Health, will pay for ongoing operating costs at the centre.

The new centre will be able to treat up to 10,000 people a year, the foundation said.

The new urologic centre will be able to treat up to 10,000 people a year, according to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation.

In October, the owners of the Dufresne furniture and appliance retail chain bolstered the planned centre with a $1-million donation to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation.

The current urology space, located within the main hospital building, will be redeveloped for other high-priority acute-care needs, the foundation said.

“Unfortunately some patients are waiting far too long for very basic urologic procedures. In some cases, patients are waiting up to a year for procedures which really should be done within a month or two,” said Dr. Jeff Saranchuk, an HSC urologist, in a pre-recorded interview conducted by communications staff.

Waits for some procedures could drop to weeks or days.

More space in the centre will free up spots for other surgical procedures in regular operating rooms.

“This centre will have multiple effects, including a so-called domino effect, whereby procedures which are currently done in the operating theatre will be able to be done in this new centre. Therefore, the waiting list for procedures to be done in the (operating room) will be lessened.”

Saranchuk said the new centre will also reduce patient transfer costs as people, particularly those who live rurally or in the North, can be diagnosed and treated during the same visit.

The urologist also said the new centre will have “significant implications” on preventing complications of urological disease.

‘Patients can be treated in a timely fashion before their disease becomes more debilitating and complicated for them to deal with,” he said.

The centre will be in the former Women’s Hospital at 735 Notre Dame Ave.

— Staff