The public consultation process regarding the future of hospital services in Windsor-Essex began Thursday.

Medial staff and politicians held a technical briefing for reporters Thursday morning and shared an initial consultation paper, which will also be shared with the general public.

Deputy Premier and Windsor-West MPP Dwight Duncan proposed that consideration be given to a new, single-site acute care hospital to serve Windsor-Essex residents in the future.

A task force has been created and told to engage the residents. The task force will ask community stakeholders to answer the following questions:

• Would a new, single site acute care hospital improve the delivery of acute care services in Windsor-Essex?
• Would a new single site acute care facility provide good value for money?
• If there is community support for a new hospital, what other considerations must be addressed during subsequent planning phases?

The Windsor Hospitals Study states that process is not pre-determined, nor has the provincial government already made its decision to build a new site.

"It would take several years of planning before construction would even begin, preceded by discussions and confirmations regarding a potential site," the report said. "Even after approvals of a new hospital on a specific site were sanctioned by government, it would take an additional several years to construct."

The report also said all approved capital projects for both Hôtel-Dieu Grace and Windsor Regional hospitals remain on the government’s capital budget plan.