The MUHC is plumbing the depths of the drainage problem at the superhospital site.
Since the hospitals opened at the Glen site -- and even earlier, according to some sources -- there have been many cases of black sewage water flowing out of drain pipes and on to the hospital's floors.
In the third step to finding the root of the problem, cameras are being lowered into drain pipes to find the source of the water.
“Since we opened, there’s been an increase in the number of patient visitors and consequently the problem became more and more real,” said Normand Rinfret, the executive director of the MUHC.
Since the opening of the Glen site facilities, a high volume of 'code flood' calls have occurred, meaning black liquid is emerging from the drains and onto the floors.
The problem has been identified as occurring in specific areas, an internal memo explained.
“That's why we're taking action for these specific areas,” said Rinfret, adding that the visual inspections began earlier this week.
The first step in finding a solution was to analyze all the blueprints to ensure the building conformed to code, which it does.
The second was to analyze installation reports to see if there were any irregularities in the original plans and Rinfret's memo says there were not.
Their third step is the visual inspection of the problem areas, which will take about a week, with an interim report on the findings expected Tuesday and every day until the process is complete and fixed.
The hospital is also talking to the supplier of the hospital's macerator, to see if the device which chops up items flushed down drains is working properly, and if there is any connection between the device and the blocked drains.
“We're having suspicions it could be construction material left into the pipes,” said Rinfret.
The MUHC is also asking staff members to call the hospital's in-house technical staff as soon as they spot a blocked drain, and to fill out a report so that the hospital can send a plumber and collect data on where and when it happened.
Given the number of foreign objects that have been found in the drainage system, including hospital waste, it's reminding staff and patients about appropriate washroom use.
Last week a spokesperson for SNC Lavalin said the company may have to open pipes underneath an operating room in the birthing centre in order to fix the problem.
Denis Crevier, the representative of SNC Lavalin and McGill Health Infrastructure Group, the consortium which built it and is responsible for any defects, doesn't believe any material has been left in the pipes.
“I don't think it is,” he said, adding that based on what they've seen so far, people are throwing the wrong items, including latex gloves, Band-Aids, sanitary pads and tonnes of brown hand-drying paper in the toilets.
The toilets operate on three times less water than normal toilets, because the entire building is LEED certified.
“We cannot evacuate – the building cannot evacuate that stuff as much as it could, hence the operations have to be adjusted accordingly,” said Crevier.
Signage is now advising employees and the public to not dispose of those materials in toilets.
