Both the Yukon Hospital Corp. and the Department of Health and Social Services have accepted the findings of the auditor general's investigation into the planning process for the Dawson City and Watson Lake hospitals, and have agreed to implement the report's recommendations.

At a press conference this morning, Health Minister Doug Graham conceded there were short-comings in the planning for the hospitals, but chose to focus on the opportunities for improvement rather than mistakes that were made in the past.

"As far as I'm concerned, those things happened, we have two wonderful facilities, they'll have very positive impacts on those communities and I think that the auditor's report is more or less an opportunity to ensure that we work on this integrated relationship between the Yukon Hospital Corporation and the services provided by Health and Social and Services,” the minister said.

Graham and Jason Bilsky, the corporation's chief executive officer, said it and Health and Social Services will partner to undertake a community health care needs assessment, determining the best way to move forward with program delivery in the new hospitals.

The audit highlights the need for the two health care delivery organizations to partner more fully in the future, Bilsky noted, and they are committed to doing so.

The assessments will look at a broad range of health services needs from acute care to mental health and community health care needs, Graham said.

With regard to staffing concerns, Graham noted that Dawson's situation is fairly stable where its medical staff is concerned, and the government is actively recruiting for Watson Lake.

Bilsky added that the corporation is currently recruiting for support staff positions for Dawson's new hospital, but as Watson Lake already has a hospital, it's less of an issue there.

In response to questions regarding future budget overages and delays at today's press conference, Bilsky said he could not make any assurances.

"I can tell you we're working very closely with the current contractor that's in default with the contract that we have, we're working very closely with the bonding company, we're working very closely with design engineers and potential new general contractors to make sure that we're mitigating any financial harm that we may take on or any delays in construction,” he said.

A saga of delays, cost overruns

Both the Watson Lake and Dawson City hospitals are over-budget and behind schedule, as was the staff residence in Whitehorse.

Watson Lake

The Watson Lake hospital was originally scheduled for completion in spring 2012. The construction deadline was subsequently extended to February 2013, according to the audit.

Today, Jason Bilsky, the Yukon Hospital Corp.'s chief executive officer, estimated Watson Lake's hospital will now open in May.

The hospital's budget was originally set at $22.2 million. As of December 2012, when the audit's investigation was completed, the estimated budget had risen to $24.6 million.

Dawson City

The Dawson hospital was originally scheduled for completion by the fall of 2012. That date was also subsequently extended to March 2013.

Today, Bilsky said the latest estimate for opening is July.

The Dawson hospital will also come in over-budget. It was originally estimated to cost $26.5 million. As of December, when the audit completed its investigation, the cost estimate had risen to $29.7 million.

Crocus Ridge Residence

The staff residence in Whitehorse was also completed late and over-budget.

The project was scheduled for completion in December 2010, and opened in April 2011. It was set to cost $17 million, but came in at $18.3 million.