Province investing $28 million for redevelopment of BGH emergency department

Redevelopment of the emergency department at Brantford General Hospital is expected to begin in the fall after the Ontario government announced a grant of $28.3 million for capital costs.

The provincial funding will cover 87 per cent of the estimated $32 million total cost of the project. About $4 million is being raised through donations to the Brant Community Healthcare System Foundation.

“Revitalizing the Brantford General Hospital has been a top priority for me and for the Government of Ontario since Day 1 of our first term,” said Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma, who made the funding announcement on Tuesday in the hospital cafeteria. “This grant will go a long way to improve emergency room services for the people of Brantford-Brant.”

The project includes construction of a “see and treat” area with treatment bays/rooms; an extended stay area (waiting/triage/registration and security); an ambulance arrival and off-loading zone; a patient drop-off; associated clinical and non-clinical support spaces; and a new Indigenous services suite adjacent to the emergency department available to all patients.

Erin Sleeth, interim CEO for the Brant Community Healthcare System following the recent retirement of David McNeil, said one of the first comments she heard after taking on the job was “We have to do something about our emergency department.”

“This is very exciting news not only for us at the hospital but in the community,” said Sleeth. “The emergency department is a critical access point for care. This is a transformative investment that will assist our exceptional frontline workers in serving our rapidly-growing community.”

The hospital’s emergency department provides medical help to more than 58,000 patients a year, well above capacity.

County of Brant Mayor David Bailey said he has visited the emergency department “a few times lately.”

“I’m always impressed with how well you do with what you’ve been given to work with,” he said.

Dr. Somaiah Ahmed, chief and medical director of the emergency department, said plans call for a new see and treat space connected to the main emergency department with an expanded waiting room and triage, which also will have a new mental health area.

“It’s going to revamp a space currently used as a corridor into space with beds so we can move patients out of the hallway and into proper spaces,” said Ahmed.

She said the ER’s main entrance will be redesigned so that ambulances have “a much easier way to enter and offload patients.”

Ahmed said Brantford’s rapidly-growing population, which includes a significant number of seniors, some of whom don’t have primary care, are using the emergency department for treatment, increasing the volume of patients.

“We don’t have the ability to deal with significant surges (in patient numbers). Similar-sized hospitals have more bed spaces. We try to squeeze out every possible efficiency in our emergency department.”

Redevelopment of the emergency department is expected to be complete sometime in late 2026, said Sleeth.

“Once construction is complete there will be a significant upgrade for all, which will assist patient safety and staff safety and give staff the opportunity to improve the quality of care,” said Peter Quinlan, chair of the board of directors for the Brant Community Healthcare System. “However, construction will be intrusive. We all have to have patience.”

Sleeth said a plan is well underway for the moving of offices and services to accommodate construction.