Iqaluit hospital floors not as dirty as they appear, says health department

An Iqaluit woman who posted photos on Facebook showing a dirty room and grimy bathroom floor at Iqaluit's Qikiqtani General Hospital is being issued an apology — but also told that what appeared to be dirt was actually residue from a special antibacterial wax.

Mary-Lee Aliyak shared photos of her granddaughter's hospital room and bathroom floor on which she wrote the words "dirty" and "IGH" using a bleach wipe.

"It's just not acceptable that anybody should be around that in a hospital," said Aliyak.

"Especially sick and vulnerable people — that's not right."

Aliyak's granddaughter was in the hospital for a total of six days, accompanied by family the whole time.

"The janitor came and she only changed the garbage in the washroom and didn't wipe down anything for the three days I was there — that's what I saw," said Aliyak.

The room was not clean from the day her granddaughter entered, said Aliyak, who adds that she spoke to hospital staff on day one and two and even alerted the custodial manager on the second day after nothing had changed. The photos were posted on day three of her granddaughter's stay.

What kind of dirt was it anyway?

"We sincerely apologize for the way the state of the room made the patient and the family feel," said Dennis Stavrou the executive director of Iqaluit health services.

The floors in the bathroom are floors that have been treated with a special antibacterial wax, he said. 

"The kind of dirt that was present in the particular pictures is not the type of dirt that would be cleaned with a mop.

"It's the type of dirt that would require us to use a scrubber and a dryer, which means that the room has to be vacant for 10 to 12 hours," says Stavrou.

Sometimes the vacant rooms are available to make that cleaning process happen, and at others they are not, he added.

If the room is not vacant the wax on the floor is not removed, which results in the discolouration of the floors said Stavrou.

However, Stavrou insisted that the room and bathroom in question were cleaned the night before with a broom and mop although the wax was not removed and reapplied.

Stavrou said the family was moved to another room while the bathroom floor was re-waxed.

The hospital cleans rooms twice a day and also provides cleaning services in between the scheduled cleanings to address any additional cleaning issues, said Stavrou.

Since the incident the department has reviewed their process and procedures, he said, and is working to continue to uphold high cleaning standards.