Could be days yet before The Ottawa Hospital's General campus gets back to normal
The Ottawa Hospital says it could take several more days before the General campus can return to normal operations after a fire Friday afternoon that forced dozens of patients to be moved within the hospital and to other facilities.
A transformer on the hospital's third floor caught fire around 3:45 p.m. Friday.
The hospital remains in a Code Orange — which allows the hospital to divert patients to other emergency departments — and has also declared a Code Grey Power because of the loss of power in parts of the hospital.
"We continue to work towards restoring normal operations," the hospital wrote in an email late Sunday afternoon, adding teams are still assessing the damage and working on cleaning up affected areas.
The hospital's labs were particularly hard hit by the fire and teams have been working to ensure testing returns to normal, the hospital said.
Surgeries, appointments rescheduled
People are being asked to avoid the hospital for the time being and go to other hospitals' emergency departments if they need medical care. The hospital is working to reschedule patient appointments, clinics and surgeries this week.
"We apologize for the frustration this may cause," the hospital said.
In a joint statement, Ottawa's hospitals said emergency response teams have been activated at the City of Ottawa, along with the Montfort Hospital, Queensway-Carleton Hospital, CHEO and The Ottawa Hospital.
Some non-urgent surgeries are also being postponed at each hospital and patients are being notified.
They also asked people to be patient as there will likely be longer delays at the other emergency departments.
The fire comes as The Ottawa Hospital is also dealing with the discovery of two cases of legionellosis nearly two weeks ago. The hospital said it is finalizing a hyperchlorination process.
"We are so grateful to everyone in the hospital for their efforts in keeping patients safe, while ensuring they continue to receive care," the hospital wrote.
