Victoria General damage won't be assessed until after Thanksgiving

The Nova Scotia Health Authority says it will be at least another 10 days before it will have a full assessment of last week's flood damage at the Victoria General's Centennial Building. 

"We're looking now at a tentative date of sometime shortly after Thanksgiving," spokesperson Everton McLean said. That assessment will look at the range of damage and what it will take to repair, he said. 

• Halifax doctor says Victoria General site should be demolished

• Victoria General replacement plan in the works, but slammed as too slow

• Victoria General hospital plagued by problems since the 1980s

The hospital has done mould testing on all occupied areas of the Centennial Building. Those tests came back negative.

McLean said infection control has no concerns about the legionella at the facility, as the bacteria is only transmitted through breathing contaminated water vapour. There is no chance of spreading it through a flood, he said. 

Surgeries, appointments getting back on schedule 

Surgeries and appointments are also returning to normal at the Victoria General, after a loss of 37 beds put the facility in a space crunch. 

Ninety-one surgeries were postponed last Friday, the day following the flood, while 10 were postponed on Sunday. McLean said 70 per cent of those surgeries have now been completed or rebooked. 

The hospital has expanded bed spaces in areas away from the flood zone. It has been able to accommodate the full slate of people who need recovery after surgery. 

Physicians are triaging the remaining non-emergency surgeries to determine when they should be done, while all emergency surgeries are going ahead. 

"The higher level of need to go ahead, the quicker we put them up on the list," McLean said. "So just because your surgery was postponed, that doesn't mean you go to the bottom of the list."

Appointments at the Victoria General eye clinic were particularly affected, but they too are returning to normal levels. The clinic typically sees at least 180 people a day. On Monday it was down to about 30 per cent of that, but is now back up to 70 to 80 per cent. 

McLean said if any further surgeries or appointments are postponed, patients will be notified by their doctor's office.