A new endoscopy suite at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is expected to reduce wait times for colonoscopies. (submitted/Island Health)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

goal reached

Construction begins for new $3M colonoscopy suite at NRGH

Jun 10, 2020 | 1:44 PM

NANAIMO — A new suite currently under construction at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is expected to curb long wait times for a crucial procedure.

Island Health announced on Wednesday, June 10 construction is now underway for a new endoscopy suite at the hospital, which is expected to add 50 surgeries a day.

The procedure is vital to detecting and treating cancer but those in need face long wait lists, even after Island Health expanded the number of days available for the procedure.

The Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation is funding $1.75 million, with the Regional Hospital District covering the rest.

Foundation CEO Janice Perrino told NanaimoNewsNOW having only two surgical suites performing colonoscopies at NRGH wasn’t meeting demand.

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“Campbell River and Comox both have two, yet our population is four times the amount,” she said. “Patients were having to go all over the place to get these endoscopies done. But with this third surgical suite we’ll be able to take care of a lot of the backlog.”

The waitlist for an endoscopy by the end of 2019 was more than 3,500, long before COVID-19 brought inessential surgeries to a halt.

Money to the Foundation was raised through online donations and for the annual Light the Trees campaign.

Between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, more than 4,100 colonoscopies were performed at NRGH.

By the end of 2019 there were more than 3,500 patients waiting up to 12 months for an endoscopic procedure.

Construction officially began on May 20, several months after its proposed start date of January, 2020.

It’s slated to finish in early 2021.

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