The cost of repairing aging hospitals in St. John's is significantly higher than the already dramatic estimates in a 2005 report, a senior manager says.

Eastern Health manager Keith Bowden: 'We're not keeping ahead of the curve at all.'
(CBC)

"It's growing faster than we can keep ahead of it," said Keith Bowden, director of infrastructure and support for Eastern Health, the regional authority that manages all hospitals and clinics in the city area, as well as the rest of eastern Newfoundland.

"I mean, we're not keeping ahead of the curve at all."

A 2005 report told Eastern Health it would need to spend about $135 million to bring the city's three hospitals and the Leonard A. Miller Centre up to acceptable standards.

But Bowden said the mounting costs of materials, such as copper, and other factors have driven up the estimated cost to $169 million.

As well, the costs of upgrades will only get higher as long as problems are not addressed. Eastern Health asked the Newfoundland and Labrador government for $95 million last year for repairs. It received $3.6 million.

'Getting worse, not better'

"The concern is that the condition of the buildings is getting worse, not better," Bowden said.

A Boston-based consulting firm laid out a litany of troubles at the Health Sciences Centre, St. Clare's Hospital and the Waterford Hospital.

The Waterford Hospital has problems with fire protection, asbestos and even floor tiles that are more than 50 years past their life expectancy.
(CBC)

By far, the worst problems are at the Waterford, where there are no sprinklers in the psychiatric hospital's cafeteria, nor in corporate offices.

The Waterford also has damaged support structures, leaking windows, asbestos throughout the building and floor tiles that are more than 50 years past their life expectancy.

Bowden said that some engineers believe that when a building's repair costs approach 40 per cent of the facility's value, the repairs are not worth making. He said the repair costs for the Waterford hospital are now more than half of its value.

As well, Bowden said if government continues to fund hospital repairs at the current rate, all of the hospitals in St. John's will be past repair in about a decade.

Repair costs affordable: critics

Roland Butler, health critic for the Opposition Liberal party, said the governing Progressive Conservatives should use a bulging fiscal surplus — projected this year for about $811 million — to overhaul sagging hospitals.

Liberal critic Roland Butler says the governing PCs should use its budget surplus to cover hospital repair costs.
(CBC)

"This report has sat on the desk of three ministers," Butler said.

"Yes, the debt has to be looked after," said Butler, who said Health Minister Ross Wiseman should be lobbying Finance Minister Tom Marshall, "trying to find out if he can get the money to correct those serious issues, sooner rather than later."

New Democratic Party Leader Lorraine Michael pointed out that the provincial government ordered 22 personal care homes across the province to close, unless they comply with an order to install sprinklers.

"The sprinklers are a big one," Michael told CBC News. "Here we have a whole hospital that has a section … without sprinklers."