Health officials figure out source of hospital ‘leak’

The Ministry of Health now knows what causes “the alleged leaks” in the operating theatre of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital{{more}} (MCMH) in Kingstown.

“The formation of water droplets in the ceiling of the operating room is due to moisture-laden air infiltration,
combined with ineffective design and operation,” Health Minister Dr. Douglas Slater told Parliament on Thursday, citing a report.

“First, it is not a leak. And we are glad to know that because, really, it was frustrating. …Because, really, it is undesirable to have water dripping on the operating table. But I hasten to say it was intermittent. As the experts have said, it depends on the humidity of the air and the entry of the air and that sort of thing,” Slater said.

However, Slater told SEARCHLIGHT on Friday that while the source of the problem had been identified, the Ministry did not have a complete report on how it should be rectified.

He said the Ministry is working to address the problem but he could not indicate how soon it would be resolved.

Slater further told SEARCHLIGHT that the problem is an intermittent one, which has not hindered the delivery of surgical service at the hospital, a point also made in Parliament on Thursday.

“That is very, very important,” he told legislators.

Slater told Parliament that the situation at the 100 year old hospital was a “serious issue”, one that has been going on since 2007.

He said “intensive checks” have shown that some parts of the roof guttering were being blocked by sediments from the asphalt roof.

“We actually thought of putting a false roof over the existing concrete roof. We got the estimates. It would have been 300 and something thousand dollars,” Slater said.

The blocked drains were cleared but the “leaks” reappeared last year, with droplets sometimes falling onto the operating table.

“This new dripping woke up that estimate again. But people were worried. Why would it be dripping when rain isn’t coming?” Slater said.

Slater said the main avenue of air filtration was through the main entrance door to the theatre.

He said the entrance to the operating theatre and a staff room had flooded before.

“The cooling system design is not in keeping with proper operating theatre design and the anomaly blends itself with an inefficient air conditioning operation,” Slater, said, quoting a document.

Slater told Parliament that notwithstanding the “leak” situation surgeons have over the past weeks been performing some “high level surgical operations for the first time in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for local and regional clients”.

He further noted that the International Hospital for Children had selected the MCMH as the best hospital in the region to establish advanced surgical and medical childcare, “in the same leaking theatre”. (KXC)