Halifax hospital building rife with problems
January 19, 2016
By
CCE
The Victoria Hospital in downtown Halifax has come under fire in the media, following reports that the building is in an unacceptable state.
There have been calls for the large red-brick building, which is Atlantic Canada’s largest cancer treatment hospital to be demolished.
Problems include water that is undrinkable due to Legionella, deep flooding on three floors last September, a heating system that malfunctions, and mould. There are also bedbug infestations.
In a CBC report, a nurse said “It’s like working in a Third World country.”
After cancelling two operations because of the flooding, cancer surgeon Dr. Geoff Porter wrote to the Halifax Chronicle Herald: “A solution to the Victoria General problem is needed. Period. Now. Not further study or conceptual plans, no more round-table discussions with involved stakeholders.”
The provincial government is promising to replace the hospital, although there was no specific mention of the project in the $108-million allocated to buildings and land in the 2016-17 Capital Plan which was released January 19.
