The Yukon Health Minister said the new hospitals will still do a good job serving their communities, even though Doug Graham agrees with the findings of the auditor general’s report.

The auditor general said the Yukon Hospital Corporation proceeded with building hospitals in Dawson City and Watson Lake, at a cost of $70 million, without identifying what the communities really need.

The auditor general's office found the government did not do much research into whether the hospitals met Yukon's health care needs.

Doug Graham, the Yukon Health Minister, said that although he agrees with the auditor general's findings on the two new hospitals, he said he still believes they will serve their communities well. (CBC)

No one estimated how much the hospitals in the two communities would cost to operate, and there was no guarantee the hospital corporation could find enough doctors and nurses to work in them.

Graham said that's all history now.

“That's something that happened five to six years ago and there's not much we're going to do about the actual facilities themselves. Those facilities are built — we're not going to run out and modify them or tear them down, or anything else. We're going to work with what we have in those communities.”

Graham said the auditor general's recommendations are being implemented. The only problem he sees with staffing is finding enough doctors to work in Watson Lake.

But, he said he is confident the hospitals are going to serve their communities well.

Jason Bilsky, the CEO of the Yukon Hospital Corporation, promised that future projects, such as the expansion of the Whitehorse hospital, will be better-managed. (CBC)

The chief executive officer of the Yukon Hospital Corporation promises future projects will be better-managed, including a major expansion of the Whitehorse hospital.

“That's really where more of the auditor general's recommendations kick in — before you actually design something, go ahead with something, make sure you make those right decisions in consultation, right,” said Jason Bilsky, CEO for the Yukon Hospital Corporation.

Bilsky said the Watson Lake hospital is expected to open in May. Dawson City's may not be operating until July.