Victoria General not at '100 per cent' six weeks after flood

The Victoria General Hospital in Halifax is not running at full capacity, despite what the Nova Scotia health minister might say, the health authority said Friday.

Heather Minister LeoGlavinesaid Thursday the hospital was "just about back 100 per cent" on service requirements and beds.

"We're not back at 100 per cent. We are at reduced bedcapacity. People are working at different locations," said Victoria Sullivan, the head of operations for the Nova Scotia Health Authority's central zone.

"The level of service that we can provide is different," she said.

A pipe burstin September, flooding floors in the Centennial Building of the central Halifax hospital. More than 100 surgeries were cancelled and three floors had extensive damage.

Swaths of the hospital are still unusable, so staff are split up among temporary facilities.

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Whilethe hospital is running all of its services, it's doing so in a more challenging manner because of the damaged facility, Sullivan said.

"It's not a long termplanand it's not sustainable," Sullivan said.

The intensive care unit, for example, is split between two sections not meant to house an ICU, she said.

"There's limitations in terms of the number of beds that we have. We're down 11beds in total for in-patient, down ICU capacity," Sullivan said.

'Not at full steam ahead'

That's still better than directly following the flood, whichsaw the hospital lose34 beds total from in-patient care. she said.Staff and physicians have found it challenging but are working hard, she added.

"We're not at full steam ahead," Sullivan said. "It's difficult. It is impacting what we can do. It's impacting flow."

Sullivan said remediation efforts should be finished by the end of December.

The health minister is expected to announce a major updateabout the Victoria General in the coming weeks.

Sullivan said she's not privy to the contents of the announcement, but knows there have been discussions about replacingthe hospital, which is"at the end of its life."