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CLARE CLANCY Updated: November 21, 2018
Alberta Health Services has earmarked land in the city’s northwest for a $36-million pharmaceutical centre.
It’s part of a larger $66-million project to centralize medication preparation and distribution for hospitals, said a Wednesday news release.
The construction of the 3,700-square-metre facility will be accompanied by the expansion of a production facility in Calgary and the redevelopment of five regional hubs.
In May, the province had issued a request for bids before the site for the provincial pharmacy central drug production and distribution centre was nailed down. Once complete, the centre will be responsible for mixing and packaging medication for the region’s health facilities.
Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said the project will make Alberta a national leader in medication management.
Construction is expected to start in 2021, with work scheduled to be complete by 2023.
There are several advantages for having medications produced in a centralized pharmacy, said Karen Horon with AHS Pharmacy Services.
“It minimizes the time nurses spend on preparing doses, freeing them up to spend more time with patients,” she said in a statement. “And by distributing medications in ready-to-administer, patient-specific packages, we’re decreasing the risk of medication errors.”
Along with the pharmaceutical centre, other phases will feature a $22-million expansion of Calgary’s production facility, along with $8.5 million in upgrades to hubs in Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Red Deer, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.
Funding for the work was included in the NDP government’s most recent five-year capital plan.
An analysis prepared by Alberta Infrastructure last year estimated the project would save $3.7 million annually in reduced medical errors, plus another $1 million to $3 million in reduced renovation costs.
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