“This is our opportunity to think outside the box,” says Dr. Hamed Umedaly, Head, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care. “We have the potential to improve patient care in a real material way.”

Dr. Umedaly, as is everyone else who’s close to the VGH OR Renewal Project, recognizes how just far we’ve come — and the possibilities still ahead to build a truly state-of-the-art perioperative suite.

“In comparison to previous exercises, this is a far more advanced and mature project,” explains Dr. Gary Redekop, Head, Department of Surgery. “To my knowledge it’s the only time that our Board, our Foundation and the Ministry of Health have been so aligned in their support.”

“This is such a big and important initiative, a priority project,” says David McLean, who serves as Chair of the Board for our VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation. A self-described “satisfied customer” who underwent spinal surgery at VGH almost eight years ago, David says he’s impressed with the project’s direction.

And that direction has begun to come into focus with the production of preliminary floor plans.

Preliminary floor plans optimize care environment

Dr. Bas Masri (right), Surgeon-in-Chief and Head of the Department of Orthopaedics, describes to Minister Terry Lake the process of hip and joint replacement in August 2013.

Developed in consultation with physician leaders, nursing leaders and other stakeholders, the floor plans optimize the care environment and maximize safe, efficient patient flow.

With 30 ORs distributed across two floors of Jim Pattison Pavilion, the floor plans include:

• 16 ORs on JP 2 and 14 ORs on JP 3
• larger and consolidated pre- and post-op care areas with pre-op anesthesia intervention bays
• larger sterile cores
• substantially more equipment storage

The reconfiguration of space will enhance patient safety and improve work flow within the ORs, throughout the perioperative suite and even in adjacent care areas, such as the ICU.

“While I understand these are draft plans, I’m pleased to see the Pharmacy relocated within the ICU,” says Dr. Nilu Partovi, Clinical Coordinator, Pharmacy. “There, we’ll be better positioned to deliver critical antibiotics to ICU patients at the bedside to prevent sepsis.”

Nilu also sees advantages in the plans for consolidated pre- and post-op care areas. “It’s a good thing and much more efficient for drug delivery,” she explains. These same care areas will accommodate pre-op anesthesia intervention bays, providing anesthesiologists the space, time and environment to manage patients’ pain, optimize outcomes and provide safe care.

State-of-the-art technology and communications

Karen Moti, supervisor of OR Radiology, says she looks forward to retiring old X-rays like the one pictured here for mobile imaging with digital displays and wireless capabilities.

Much more than ORs, the project’s current scope includes state-of-the-art imaging equipment to support vascular, cardiac and trauma interventional procedures. And this makes Karen Moti smile. As Supervisor of OR Radiology, she’s excited about this “step towards the future.”

Challenged daily by equipment limitations, Karen says acquiring the next generation in mobile X-rays with digital displays and wireless capabilities would significantly improve efficiency and enable even better patient care. Additional storage would be a welcome relief, too.

Real-time communication systems and strategies — including wireless bedside charting for a seamless transfer of patient vitals to charts, and radio frequency identification to track the movement of patients, equipment and implants — would further enhance how the OR team works together and connects with the rest of the hospital. These and other possible solutions will be explored.

“This project has brought us farther ahead than we’ve ever been,” says Karen

Next steps forward

“I’m impressed with the plan’s built-in flexibility to improve efficiencies, the innovations under consideration, and the energy and commitment of so many surgeons and staff to move forward,” says David.

To that end, the project team is on schedule to complete its business plan and submit it for approvals by our VCH Senior Executive Team, then our VCH Board of Directors and, finally, to the Ministry of Health this fall. The project’s final scope, including the number of ORs, and related capital and operating costs, requires approval at each level of governance.

Learn more

• VGH OR Renewal Project website (internal link on VCH Connect)
• VCH News: No more band-aid solutions

The project team also welcomes comments and questions. Please send them to OneVancouver@vch.ca using the email subject line: “VGH OR Renewal”.