Residents in Vancouver’s West End have voiced their concerns at a community meeting on the future of St. Paul’s hospital.
It was standing room only Tuesday night at a public meeting protesting the relocation of the hospital to the False Creek Flats.
Despite the new facility being located just a few kilometers away at Main and Terminal, many people living near the facility’s current location on Burrard Street say the move would leave their community under-served.
Aaron Jasper, former “Save St. Paul’s Hospital Coalition” chair, says building additional health care facilities is a good thing, but they don’t want to pit one neighbourhood against another.
Local resident Rhonda told Global News the hospital is an integral part of the community.
“If they move it, there will be issues of access,” she says. “The first question that comes up for me is safety, especially for seniors travelling and support services that are supposed to be in place.”
Rhonda says the hospital has been revamped in the past and she thinks it is possible to work within the current structure.
“There is other property in the area that could be used to expand that,” she adds.
The new hospital is expected to open in 2022.
READ MORE: Vancouver’s St. Paul’s Hospital to close, new facility to be built nearby
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