St. Boniface Hospital closes 9 operating rooms due to problems with air handling system

More than two dozen scheduled surgeries at Winnipeg's St. Boniface Hospital have been relocated or postponed thanks toa malfunction in the hospital's air handling system that temporarily closed down several operating rooms.

Nine of the hospital's 14operating rooms were closed because of the malfunction, the WinnipegRegional Health Authority said in a news release on Wednesday.

Five suites remain open for emergency surgeries at the hospital, the health authority said. Repairs are underway and expected to be complete by the end of Friday.

The hospital is in the process of relocating 16 surgeries scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday to other hospitals in the city. St. Boniface operating room staff will go to those sites so patients can have more continuity of care, the health authority said.

An additional 12 surgeries, including some elective cardiac procedures, were postponed and will be rescheduled as soon as possible, the health authority said.

"We recognize that delays of scheduled surgeries are stressful for patients and their families. Repairs to the air handling system are underway; any affected surgeries will be rescheduled as quickly as possible once repairs have been completed,"said Krista Williams, chief health operations officer with the health authority, in the release.

Not all the hospital'ssurgical suites are in use over the summer, which reduced the impact of the malfunction, the release says.

All affected patients have been or will be notified by the hospital. Patients or family members with questions can contact their surgeon's or physician's office directly.

The health authority said it will provide more information as it becomes available.