FAQ

HOP Lachine! - A Patient-Oriented Hospital is the name given to the modernization project of the Lachine Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).

This project will expand and upgrade the historic building to maintain the high quality of care and provide patients and their loved ones with modern facilities and individual rooms conducive to healing.

No. The Lachine Hospital will remain a community hospital offering clinical expertise in ophthalmology, bariatric surgery, ambulatory hemodialysis and long-term respiratory care. It will continue to be a senior-friendly hospital that uses the age-friendly approach to improve the quality of hospital stay and care for seniors.

There are five guiding principles:

1. The patient experience
2. Care and best practices
3. Environment and support services
4. Our People
5. Our Hospital in the Community

For more information, consult the document Guiding Principles for the Modernization of the Lachine Hospital. (Include link)

• Clinical and administrative management
• Hospital staff
• Health care professionals
• Project planners and coordinators
• Patient partners

The implementation scenario chosen was developed based on the two hypotheses put forward during the Lean meetings and the efficiency exercises. This scenario not only respects the five guiding principles of the project, but is also consistent with the notice of recognition of clinical needs issued by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSSS).

Due to the scope of the anticipated work, the project will be divided into phases:

1. A new building will house emergency, intermediate care and medical day centre services, as well as medical, surgical and palliative care units, including the outpatient palliative care clinic.
2. Upgrades will be made to the historic building, including the medical device reprocessing unit (MDRU), the endoscopy suite, outpatient clinics and the specimen collection center.
3. The pharmacy, laboratories and ophthalmology clinic will be considered in the next phase.

The Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) supports public organizations in the management of their public infrastructure projects by providing construction, operation and property management services. In the context of the HOP Lachine! project, SQI will be responsible for the pre-project studies (functional and technical programming, cost estimates, modeling and administrative procedures with the government) and for the project management (general organization, calls for tenders, coordination of stakeholders, contract management, quality control, budget and schedule monitoring, building commissioning and moving). 

 

The current tanks have a capacity of 6000 litres and 3000 litres. Their capacities were designed to accommodate the increased consumption in anticipation of an expansion; therefore, the tank capacities remain the same. The oxygen tanks cannot be buried underground. They will be relocated near the planned entrance to the employee parking lot on 13th Avenue.

Employees currently have access to changing rooms to change into work attire before and after their shift. Additional employee changing rooms and lockers are planned in the expansion and on the redesigned levels of the existing hospital.

During construction, there will be a loss of parking at the hospital, but this will affect patients and the public to a lesser extent. On-site parking, accessible from 16th Avenue, will be reserved for patients and visitors. Temporary parking for employees is available, but some may opt to park their vehicles on nearby streets, which could impact residents. Employees working the day shift, Monday through Friday, will be asked to park their cars at a satellite parking lot.

Several strategies are used to prevent cost overruns. The project has a risk provision to deal with this type of situation as well as inflation. This provision was revised when the project was approved by the conseil des ministres in May 2022. There is also a contingency plan to deal with unforeseen events in the current market.

All mitigation measures are in place to ensure that construction vibrations are monitored and controlled, so as not to exceed acceptable thresholds. The presence of seismographs at various locations will allow the measurement of vibration levels. In the event that levels are exceeded, construction practices will be reviewed to ensure that acceptable thresholds are respected. Blasting mats to prevent possible rock fragments from damaging the surroundings are also planned to protect nearby homes. In addition, a blasting specialist will supervise the work. Blasting operations are not yet confirmed by the contractor, but could be a possible scenario. Please note: The noise generated by blasting is of a shorter duration than that of a jackhammer, which can last all day for a number of weeks. Blasting periods are spaced out and allow more work to be done in less time than other excavation or demolition methods.