Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre

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The Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre was named after Queen Victoria as Queen of Canada from Canada's confederation in 1867–1901.

The number of beds is broken down as follows

• 21 Critical Care beds
• 36 Mental Health beds
• 8 child and youth mental health beds
• 170 General Medical/Surgical beds
• 22 Obstetrical beds
• 8 Paediatric beds
• 14 Rehabilitation beds
• 70 field hospital beds in the Regional Pandemic Response Unit
• Advanced Level II Special Care Nursery

There are in excess of 85,000 visits to the Emergency Department, annually. RVH has 2,000 births each year. Since opening in 1997, activities across the board have virtually doubled.

The helipad for the hospital is found at ground level across from Georgian College Residences and requires ambulance transfer to the hospital's emergency department.

In 2009, Royal Victoria Hospital embarked on the largest capital project in its history. The expansion program was broken into Phase 1 and Phase 2. Construction of the main phase was concluded in the spring of 2012.[15]

Phase 1

Phase one included a $450 million redevelopment and expansion project that almost doubled the size of the hospital, adding 400,000 square feet (37,000 m²) of space, and capacity for 165 additional inpatient beds, including a dedicated Coronary Care Unit; significant expansions of the Emergency Department, Diagnostic Imaging and Laboratory and two additional Operating Rooms. In addition to the significant expansion, another 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) of the current facility received renovations.

The main features of the Phase 1 expansion included:

• The Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre, which will log more than 65,000 patient visits in its first year[16]
• 165 new inpatient beds, including a dedicated Coronary Care Unit for critically ill cardiac patients
• An Emergency Department that will triple in size and includes trauma, isolation areas, a clinical decision unit and mental health suite.
• An expanded Diagnostic Imaging Department will double in size to increase patient flow and privacy
• An expanded Laboratory
• Two new Operating Rooms which are larger than existing suites for complex surgeries
• Expansion space for two future patient care units
• "Rotary House", a residential lodge for cancer patients and their families who live more than 40 kilometers outside Barrie.

Phase 2

As Phase 1 nears completion, Phase 2 was to begin. Phase 2 was planned to consist of significant renovations to the existing hospital, including construction of new operating rooms, more patient beds, construction/update to the special care nursery (neonatal unit) and an expansion to the surgical unit.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Regional Pandemic Response Unit (PRU) was built, opening on November 27, 2020. The PRU was erected in the hospital parking lot. Although it has a tent-like appearance, it is suitable for any kind of weather, and is equipped with appropriate heating and cooling units.[17]

This fully-functioning, 70-bed field hospital is not intended to directly care for COVID-19 patients, but rather is meant to alleviate patient overflow challenges.[18] As such, it is one of only three such sites in the province and allows RVH to assist overloaded zones like Toronto.[17]

• Royal eponyms in Canada

• Official website