New hospital coming to Whitby, with 300 new beds across Durham health care system

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has reaffirmed that Durham Region’s next hospital will be built in Whitby, ending more than two years of speculation and flip-flops from the government, despite the approval for the site near Highway 407 and Lakeridge Road by Lakeridge Health in 2022.

Ford, who was in Oshawa Thursday to announce a multi-phased expansion of medical services in the region that will provide more than 300 new hospital beds, also confirmed the $3 million planning grant to get construction started on the new hospital is coming and that he was “looking forward” to getting shovels in the ground on the project.

The hospital news was just one line note in the press release (“Building a new Whitby Hospital to improve access to fast and convenient care”) and wasn’t mentioned in Ford’s speech but was the first question when the floor was opened to questions from the media.

Ford’s answer to the question was simply “yes,” while noting the announcement at Lakeridge Health Oshawa’s LHEARN Centre was about a “Durham-wide approach” in health care expansion, leaving Health Minister Sylvia Jones to expand on his response.

“We are absolutely building a hospital in Whitby,” Jones said, adding that community consultation on the project can now begin, with the new hospital expected to be open for service in about ten years.

Jones also lauded the government’s track record in expanding medical seats across Ontario and cited the partnership between Queen’s University in Kingston’s medical school and Lakeridge Health Oshawa.

“No matter where you go you can be connected to the care you need, “Jones said. “Together in Durham we are getting it done.”

Other facets in the expansion of medical services in Durham announced by the government Thursday include a new post-acute care centre in Pickering “to connect more patients and their families to rehabilitation and recovery supports” and the re-development of the Bowmanville Hospital to double the hospital’s capacity by adding 32 new beds and expanding inpatient and ambulatory care services and creating a brand-new emergency department.

The Province will also be creating space for acute care capacity at the Oshawa site by relocating some services to the new Pickering facility.

Later phases of the redevelopment plan “under consideration” include the expansion of the Ajax-Pickering Hospital.

“Our government is investing to ensure that people in the growing communities of Durham have access to the convenient care they need, close to home,” Ford said. “These investments will support the development of a robust health care system for all of Durham Region that puts people at the centre of care.”

Lakeridge CEO Cynthia Davis called the news a “game changer” for health care in Durham. “The funding is all about building that connective care,” she said at the podium. “It’s a really exciting day.”

Davis said the announcement is also a “strong vote of confidence” in the hospital group’s mission. “It means our rapidly growing and diverse population will be able to receive exceptional and specialized care close to home, in a safe and timely manner, within and beyond the walls of our Lakeridge Health hospitals. It also means more jobs in the health care sector and will help us recruit and retain additional talented clinicians and staff.”

Lakeridge Health selected Whitby to host its seventh hospital in January 2022. But provincial funding – the $3 million planning grant to get the project moving, for a start – is required and until recently there had been nothing but crickets from Queen’s park. Provincial budgets were passed in 2022, 2023 and 2024 (each chock-full of health care goodies) with no planning grant announced.

There were also accusations of backdoor shenanigans from Mayor Kevin Ashe in neighbouring Pickering, who wanted the hospital in his city, despite the planned location being right on the Whitby-Pickering border.

Ford finally declared the hospital would indeed be coming to Whitby earlier this year but there had been no further announcements until Thursday’s news conference.

The hospital, which will be south of Highway 407, west of Highway 412, east of Lake Ridge Road and north of Highway 7/Winchester Road, will be the only trauma centre between Toronto and Kingston and will serve residents across Durham Region.

Over the next 10 years the Province will invest nearly $50 billion in health infrastructure across the province, adding 3,000 new beds. The government is investing more than $228 million this year to support infrastructure upgrades and repairs at 129 hospitals and 58 community health-care facilities across Ontario.

Dr. Randy Wax, Chief of Staff, Lakeridge Health’s Chief of Staff, said the announcement will be “pivotal” in advancing the hospital’s future plans.

“This dramatically enhances our ability to ensure patients can get timely exceptional care in the right clinical environment to match their needs,” he said. “This incredible announcement will support and accelerate our vision of One System. Best Health.”