The new campus will take five years to plan and design and five years to build.

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) has a five-stage process for building a new hospital. Here are the stages:

1. Proposal and Master Plan: Look at population health trends and medical advancements; take stock of the hospital’s current services and programs, plan for future service models.
2. Functional Program: Plan for space requirements and preliminary plans for staffing and equipment
3. Preliminary Design: Design new campus in detail for all aspects of the buildings and the site as a whole, based on patient and community input
4. Contract Documents: Refine architectural plans and detailed schedule for design and construction
5. Construction

Stage 2 of the Ministry’s process is when the hospital develops the ‘functional program’ for the new campus. This builds on the work done earlier in the project and adds more detail about the programs that will be housed at the new campus, including space requirements, and major equipment.

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute provides cardiac care to patients of The Ottawa Hospital. The hospital and Heart Institute remain together as plans for the new campus are developed, as originally noted in the hospital’s 2008 master plan. The hospital and Heart Institute agree that the Heart Institute must be near the campus. This is crucial to providing the best 21st-century care and is in the best interests of all patients. This complex move will be planned over the next two to three years and will respect budget and timelines.

Statement by The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute regarding next generation health facilities

The planning, design and build of a new Civic campus represents the opportunity of a lifetime for health care in Ottawa. As representatives of our community, we will work in concert as boards to further the best interests of patients in a fiscally responsible manner throughout the planning process taking place over the next three years and beyond. To that end, the statement below reflects our mutual view regarding the way forward in that process.

Download the statement  (pdf)

The hospital will be built on a 50-acre parcel of land between Carling Avenue and Dow’s Lake known as the ‘Sir John Carling’ site. A parcel this size is consistent with best practices for new health-care centres across North America. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term-Care has supported building on a parcel of land this size.

Starting in the fall of 2019, work will be underway to complete the studies and planning required to meet the city’s holding provisions. Community involvement will be critical to completing this work over the next few years.

The Ottawa Hospital and the DARA Tennis Club have reached an agreement to continue DARA’s operations at its Maple Lane location. This agreement includes the same terms and conditions as DARA’s previous agreement with the federal government.

The hospital is required to provide the same number of car and bus parking spots for the Dow’s Lake pavilion and special events in the area as currently exist in the NCC parking lot beside Dow’s Lake, as per the grounds lease between The Ottawa Hospital and the federal government.
The site design has not been finalized but at this time the existing parking lot continues to operate as normal.

The site design for The Ottawa Hospital hasn’t been finalized. As part of the planning process, the hospital will conduct a transportation study and will work closely with the community and the city to find a solution that works for everyone.