MUHC superhospital still doesn't have cellphone service

The McGill University Health Centre is a brand new,state-of-the-art superhospital thatstillhas no cellphone reception.

As CBC News first reported in March, construction materials used to build the hospital are blocking cellphone signals inside the buildings, meaning reception is spotty or non-existent in many places.

• New MUHC site to have poor cell phone service

At the time, the hospital said it was working on a fix, but that still hasn't happened.

To boost the cellphone signal inside thesuperhospital, an antenna was installed across the street and on the employee parking garage.

'Iwear a pager now, but a lot of doctors don't have one still.You then call them on their cell, but if they aren't in an area where they have reception, it goes straight to voicemail."- MUHC doctor

Combined, the external antennas only improved signalpenetration to about 40 or 50 per cent, saidRichard Fahey, the MUHC's director of public affairs.

The next step is putting in hundreds of small antennas inside the hospital, known as a distributed antenna system.

But it's complicated now that the hospital has patients and staff in it.

"You need to have wiring installed," saidFahey. "So you need to do it properly with all the precautionary measures to avoid any kind of dust falling from the ceilings."

Fall deadline won't be met

Initially, the hospital said it would have full mobile service by this fall but now,Fahey said,they won't meet that deadline and that it will probably take several more months.

"We are talking about a multi-million dollar project, so it is costly," saidFahey. "So that's why we tried to have the external antennas to reduce as much of the cost internally."

Fahey wouldn't say how the MUHC plans to pay for this, but he didsay the hospital was searching for a potential sponsor.

Impact on clinical operations

While the system is being installed, physicians and medical personnel have been using pagers and Wi-Fi phones.

But as one surgeon whodeclined to be identified told CBC News thatit's slowed everything down, returning things to the way they were 10 years ago.

"I wear a pager now, but a lot of doctors don't have one still," he said. "You then call them on their cell, but if they aren't in an area where they have reception, it goes straight to voicemail."

He saidmany clinical teams rely on iMessages the Apple iPhone messaging service that uses wireless networksrather than cell signalsto communicate with each other rather than quick cellphone chats to check in on a patient's status. Some residents have asked for their own Wi-Fi phone, but it's expensive.

Another doctor, who also spoke anonymously, said he's actually enjoying the temporary break from his phone. He said it's made him more present and forced him to have more face-to-face conversations with his colleagues.

If he's needed urgently, they'll page him over the intercom or page a resident.

But, he admits, the cellphone issue is just one of many little frustrations that are still being ironed out at the new hospital.

"It's a slow process here," he said. "I don't see the hospital being fully functional for another year."

The MUHC saidthere haven'tbeen a significant number of patient complaints received by the MUHC or the ombudsman on cellphone reception.