RCH Redevelopment
A three-phase $1.35 billion redevelopment is underway at Royal Columbian Hospital. This is the largest government-funded healthcare project in BC’s history.

Project Background

The Royal Columbian Hospital is one of BC’s busiest and most specialized critical care hospitals. As well as being our local community hospital here in New Westminster, it provides tertiary (highly specialized) care for trauma, cardiac care, interventional radiology, neurosurgery and vascular/thoracic surgery to BC, the Lower Mainland and Fraser Health. Royal Columbian also provides quaternary (the MOST specialized care) for trauma care, heart attack, heart and lung life support, and clot removal in acute stroke patients. It performs more open heart surgeries than any other BC hospital.

Royal Columbian is adding more capacity to help address the significant increase in patient volumes and congestion seen in recent years and expected by 2025 as our aging population grows.

Redevelopment Plans

Phase 1 (2016 to 2020)

  • A new 75-bed Mental Health and Substance Use Wellness Centre with more outpatient clinics and Fraser Health’s first Older Adult Psychiatric Unit for seniors, all to replace the aging Sherbrooke Centre. The building also includes:
    • A new 450 stall underground parkade
    • A new Energy Centre to provide more power and utilities to our growing hospital
  • Relocation of the heliport to roof of Columbia Tower

Phase 2 (2020 to 2024)

  • A new acute care tower with:
  • More beds for intensive care, cardiac intensive care, medicine and surgical patients, all in single-patient private rooms
    • A new, larger Emergency with a satellite medical imaging unit 
    • More operating rooms and interventional suites for cardiology and diagnostic radiology all on one large interventional and surgical ‘super floor’
    • More maternity beds and a maternity operating room 
  • An underground parkade, a new main entrance, and a rooftop helipad
  • Replacement of some aging buildings with site enhancements

Phase 3 (2023 to 2026)

The final phase upgrades and expands spaces within existing buildings.


More Information

To learn more about this project, please visit the Fraser Health website.