Victoria General flood damage cost should be known soon

It could take another month before the Victoria General's intensive care unit returns to service after last month's flood, an official with the Nova Scotia Health Authority says, and they won't know the cost of repairs until next week.

"We are looking for a temporary location for the ICU at the VG site and we believe we've identified the spot,"said Victoria Sullivan, executive director of operations for the Nova Scotia HealthAuthority's central zone.

"Hopefullywithin about a month, we will have ICU services back at that site."

She says the cost of repairing the Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre should be known by the end of next week.

A burst pipe soakedthree floors of the Centennial Building nearly three weeks ago. The flood forced staff to move 50 patients including some in intensive careto the Halifax Infirmary site. It also affected outpatient services such as the eye clinic.

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Staff are still arrangingtemporary locations for the clinic and the intensive care unit serviceon other floors of the VG building.

Ten beds are back in service, with another 19 expected back this week.

However, the situation could deteriorate when repairs and renovations do get underway, said Sullivan.

"When any construction goes on, that area is cordoned off from an infection-control perspective, but it does become difficult and this is a difficult time for the staff, the physicians, and mostly importantly our patients in terms of the disruption," she said.

Sullivan said the start date for repairs will depend on the total costs.

The second floor of the Centennial Building used to seeabout 200 eye procedures each day, such as cataract removal.

Sullivan said some of thatwork is now being done at the Cobequid Community Health Centre.

Health Minister Leo Glavine has said some parts of the building may be unsalvageable because the government will not spend a lot of money on a site that should have been replaced a decade ago.