The tab for fixing St. John's hospitals and a rehabilitation centre will top $136 million, politicians have been told.

Health Minister Ross Wiseman says it is much to early to talk about closing a hospital, or building a new one.
(CBC)

Eastern Health on Wednesday released parts of a 2005 consultant's report that shows a litany of expensive problems at the city's aging hospitals, with upgrades at the Health Sciences Centre — by far the largest health complex in Newfoundland and Labrador — pegged at more than $50 million alone.

To repair problems at St. Clare's Hospital and the Waterford psychiatric hospital will cost more than $35 million each, while the Leonard A. Miller Centre, a rehabilitation complex in the city's east end, needs more than $16 million to be brought up to national standards.  

The Waterford faces special challenges according to the review done by a Boston-based consulting firm.

Among items identified as critical, the consultants found that the Waterford has no sprinklers in the main building cafeteria or its corporate offices, and does not have full sprinkler protection in its north wing.

Report flags safety concerns

Emergency lighting in the west and north wings and the hospital's centre block was identified as a concern, as were unvented laundry dryers.

St. Clare's Hospital in St. John's needs about $35 million in repairs and upgrades, a consultant has determined.
(CBC)

Among items that were not considered critical but still serious, the Waterford was shown to have stairs, handrails and guardrails that don't meet code, as well as dead-end corridors and fire extinguishers that do not meet standards.

Health Minister Ross Wiseman revealed the existence of the review on Wednesday, while challenging CBC News reports on plans that include building 10 stand-alone clinics. Tenders for the clinics were issued in February.

Wiseman, who a day earlier had said officials were studying if the work of three institutions could be done in two, said he was concerned that the public might believe that hospitals might close.

"At no time did I indicate that we're closing a hospital. At no time did I indicate we were going to close one," he said.

Programs, not buildings, the priority: health minister

Wiseman said it is much too early in the review process to talk about closing — or even building — anything.

Geoff Chaulk on the Waterford hospital: 'It's a building that has served its day, has served its time.'
(CBC)

"This is not an architectural exercise, where we're designing a building," he said.

"This is an exercise where as health planners, we'll engage people to look at programs and services, and the programs and services will dictate the kind of infrastructure we'll need."

Geoff Chaulk, the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association's Newfoundland and Labrador division, said the government should close the Waterford and replace it with a smaller and more modern institution.

"It's a building that has served its day, has served its time," said Chaulk, who said patients must tolerate a lack of privacy and cramped conditions in wards.

"There [are] six patients in a room. That's not acceptable. That's no longer an ideal standard of care," he said.

"In the summer, some of the units are very uncomfortably hot, because there is no air conditioning."

Chaulk said the government's plan for new clinics — which will offer services that include psychiatry — is great news for mental health consumers.