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Thompson operating rooms still expected to open in early March, NRHA says

The expected date for the reopening of the three Thompson General hospital operating rooms shut down as a result of water damage last June remains early March, the North Regional Health Authority said Jan. 10.
thompson hospital

The expected date for the reopening of the three Thompson General hospital operating rooms shut down as a result of water damage last June remains early March, the North Regional Health Authority said Jan. 10.

“We had heard that there may be some talk in the community that the date for reopening was extended for an extra few months but that is not the case; it still remains at March 2020,” said NRHA communications co-ordinator Twyla Storey in an email. Once a firm date has been established, the NRHA will make that information public.

Previously, an opening date of January had been expected but unspecified production delays pushed that date back about three months, the NRHA said in December, adding that the only surgeries being performed were life- and limb-saving surgeries and emergency C-sections.

All but one of the hospital's four operating rooms were knocked out of commission seven months ago as a result of water damage from a faulty rooftop air conditioning unit. 

By mid-July 123 surgeries had been cancelled and 27 others performed at other health care facilities in Manitoba.

While the operating rooms have been unavailable, the hospital has aimed to keep one surgeon and one anesthetist on call at all times, NRHA CEO Helga Bryant told the Thompson Citizen in July, along with one obstetrician and three operating room nurses.

The Thompson General Hospital’s operating room area was originally built in 1957 and renovated to the current layout in 1972.

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