It was an incident that shut down parts of a west Edmonton hospital Thursday, after a pipe apparently burst – and opposition parties immediately pushed the government to look at improving the aging hospital.
Alberta Health said ambulances had to be diverted from the Misericordia Hospital for about three hours Thursday, after parts of the building were flooded.
It was the second flooding incident in the last four months – and it helped spark a heated debate in the legislature.
“The Misericordia Hospital is literally falling apart,” Wildrose and Opposition Leader Danielle Smith said in question period. “It has flooded now three times over the last year.”
Smith said there were two choices for dealing with the situation, to either repair the hospital, or build a new one.
“We’ve taken direction to invest $25 million over the period of time to try and ensure this hospital continues to operate in an effective way,” Health Minister Stephen Mandel said.
The provincial government has acknowledged the hospital will likely need to be replaced, but an Alberta Health spokesperson told CTV News the facility can safely operate over the next few years while a decision is made on its future.
As for damage following Thursday’s flooding, officials said an early look showed damage is minimal, mainly for fallen ceiling tiles.
With files from Bill Fortier
