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NDP releases FOI emails on Sask. Hospital building woes

The opposition New Democrats have released a number of documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests about the building woes at the new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford.
sask hospital

The opposition New Democrats have released a number of documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests about the building woes at the new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford.

Released by the party were documents from two separate FOI batches, one from SaskBuilds and the other from the Ministry of Health. The documents contain email correspondence among officials in both government departments related to the Sask. Hospital issues. The emails released cover the period March 13 to 21, which was a few days after the grand opening at Saskatchewan Hospital took place.

One email cited by the NDP was from March 13 sent by Jill Zimmer of the government of Saskatchewan to three government officials at 10:25 a.m.

The subject was the “SHNB – Roof Leak.” In that email she stated: “With the spring thaw, some major issues with the roof at SHNB have come to the forefront. The roof was a serious bone of contention during design and construction, and unfortunately, the Authority’s concerns were well-founded.”

In the next paragraph she wrote “I don’t have a lot of information at the moment, as the situation is still developing. What I do know is:

• The gym is currently flooded and is unavailable;

• Several occupied units are experiencing leakage issues.”

She later noted that “we are protected by the P3 contract” and that “there will be availability penalties that will be applied, and any temporary accommodations or damages to the  authority’s equipment will be covered by APP.”

In their news release, the NDP pointed to this email as an indication “that fresh problems with the roof reflected long-standing SHA concerns that had been disregarded.“

Later on that day, executive director of Infrastructure Management at the SHA, Derek Miller, stated in an email sent at 10:57 p.m. to several Sask. Health Authority officials that SHNB “is experiencing over 20 different roof leaks with the snow melting. One unit had to be evacuated to another vacant unit in the facility as a result. Staff are managing and patients are safe.”

The NDP also pointed to another line in Miller’s email: “We are fortunate this didn’t occur last week before the grand opening …” it stated.

Other emails pointed to the extent of the issues Sask. Hospital was facing. In an email from Zimmer March 13 at 12:52 p.m.:

“Graham phoned me separately to give me a heads up that the issue is much more widespread than the couple of incidents that have been logged. They have not communicated this widely to the rest of the authority yet, until they have a better handle on it and have a plan in place.

Neal Sylvestre of Sask. Health Authority, in an email dated March 15 at 9:33 a.m. stated the following:

“I understand there are two separate issues with respect to flooding:

“West Prairie View B had a waterline fitting failure on Wednesday which flooded the entire unit. Our 22 residents were relocated to West Prairie View C … one floor above. No issues with respect to resident accommodation/care … all is well!

“There are a number of roof leaks throughout the building due to melting snow. A significant leak in the auditorium is causing acoustic material to separate from the ceiling. There are buckets collecting water in the auditorium and the auditorium is closed. Nicole (Salazer, unit manager) tells me workers are on the roof dealing with remaining snow.”

On May 16 at 12:46 p.m., Lisa Danyluk of Sask. Builds sent an email to Julianne Jack of the Central Services Ministry on the subject “SHNB comms” in which she stated “a joint comm. strat would be developed between our two shops including messaging and a draft media statement. I have our old strategy and messaging from the building exterior issue last year plus notes from the feedback and suggestions provided during the board meeting so I’ll type something up and get it to you this afternoon. Sounds like they could want to issue something publicly as early as tomorrow.”

The province made public the news the roof was being replaced a few days later, on May 22.

“What these documents show is a government putting politics before people, bulldozing their way to a big ribbon-cutting with no concern for the wellbeing of patients or staff,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili in a news release from the party.

“How did the minister of Health let people down so badly, and what is he doing now to ensure future infrastructure projects aren’t falling apart before they even open?”

“Too many projects like this are being built by out-of-province and out-of-country companies that it seems are only here to make a buck,” said NDP Health critic Vicki Mowat in the same news release. “We need to be building major infrastructure with Saskatchewan companies, Saskatchewan materials and Saskatchewan workers.”