N.B. government to spend up to $30M on new endoscopy suite at Moncton hospital

New Brunswick will spend $30 million for a new endoscopy suite at a Moncton

The New Brunswick government is spending up to $30 million on a new endoscopy suite at a Moncton hospital.

The suite, which will be at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre, is expected to:

• provide faster access to exams and specialized care
• improve cancer detection
• reduce hospitalizations
• offer a modern and efficient work environment for employees

The province says an endoscopy is a “medical procedure that uses a long, flexible tube with a light and camera attached, called an endoscope, to examine the inside of the body.”

“The new endoscopy unit is another way our government is making sure New Brunswickers get the care they need, when they need it,” said Premier Susan Holt in a news release from the province. “By partnering with the Vitalité Health Network, we are improving access and reducing wait times for patients at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre.”

With the addition of the new suite, the number of procedure rooms will increase from seven to 12.

“Additional new rooms will include those for ear, nose and throat, bronchoscopy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, gastrointestinal, and urological procedures, and other specialized examinations,” reads the release.

The government says endoscopies “are essential” in detecting, diagnosing, treating and monitoring many health conditions, including various types of cancer.

“There is a great need for endoscopy services at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre, and we know this will only grow in the years to come,” said Health Minister John Dornan in the release. “A modernized and expanded suite will improve patient outcomes, such as the detection of cancer and other diseases, and also help us attract and retain medical specialists and other health-care professionals.”

The new suite will have an airborne isolation room for patients with potential contagious diseases and additional negative-pressure rooms.

The province says the suite will meet the requirements of the Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick in Moncton and the Université de Sherbrooke to ensure medical students can train in the new space.

“It’s one thing to get people here, it’s another to keep them here,” Dornan said in an interview. “When people look at here and know that we’re committed to this level of instrumentation, support staff with a fair negotiated contract, people will come and they will stay.

The project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2029.

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Josh Smith

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.