Ministry to undertake audit of Sask. Hospital after water advisory

An advisory was issued and non-potable water was brought in earlier this week, Carr said, adding the investigation is expected to remain ongoing for a number of days.

“Once we know more we will take appropriate steps to make sure the system there is fully usable and accessable by all users,” he said. “Once we have that clarification we will know what remedial steps need to betaken, if any.”

Noticed have been placed around the Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford after high levels of copper and lead were found in the water. The ministry maintains there is no health concerns. (Supplied photo/Saskatchewan NDP)

NDP leader Ryan Meili and Health Critic Vicki Mowat renewed calls for a full audit of the facility Friday morning.

Asked on this, Carr said the ministry has decided to hire an independent third party to perform an audit. He anticipates it will take a number of weeks and said the ministry will determine in the coming days how it will unfold. He said Access Prairies Partnership, the organization responsible for the construction and maintenance of the hospital, has been informed.

“Our concern is that we want the assurance that the facility is operating as it was designed and as it should,” Carr said. “What I have asked my officials to do is ensure we can have an understanding of how all the systems in that facility operate and we can start to have a conversation on reliability and predictability on what has been going on.”

Carr was asked if the latest problem at the hospital has waned his confidence in the public-private partnership or P3 model.

He argued the contrary, saying recent situations demonstrate the value of a P3 as it resolves the province of any financial liability to correct the inefficiencies.

“I would argue the province has been the beneficiary of identifying the concerns with the building and having the builder fully own that requirement,” he said.

Carr said it is not out of the ordinary to encounter complications when commissioning a new building, especially one as large and sophisticated as this one, through commissioning and into operation.

‘Inexcusable’ says NDP leader, health critic

Speaking to media Friday morning, Meili said it is astounding that patients in a hospital in Saskatchewan in 2019 are unable to drink the water. Meili, who is a medical doctor himself, said it must be very distressing for patients in the psychiatric hospital to see signs on the wall advising them not to drink the water.

“What does this do to their feeling of safety in a building like this?” Meili said. “It is very disturbing.”

He said the entire situation points to “poor management on the part of the Sask. Party” and a flaw in the P3 model. He said there is a pattern emerging with the Saskatchewan Party and health care facilities in the province.

“We have hospitals that are old and falling apart or [they are] building new ones and doing a bad job,” he said.

Mowat said it is “inexcusable” for a $407-million facility that officially opened just a few short months ago to experience this many issues.

“It is really disappointing for folks who were depending on this facility,” she said.

The 284-bed facility replaced a century-old psychiatric care facility and two correctional centres. The new SHNB includes 188 psychiatric rehabilitation beds and a separate secure wing with 96 beds for offenders living with mental health issues.

In May, it was announced that the entire roof would need to be replaced as panels had shrunk and caused water leaks during spring melt. In October 2017, the contractor was forced to remove exterior bricks and cladding to replace faulty insulation in the walls.

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr

by Tyler Marr

Ministry to undertake audit of Sask. Hospital after water advisory

‘Inexcusable’ says NDP leader, health critic

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