Humber River Health is demanding the hired consortium to build and maintain its Toronto hospital for $ 100 million, claiming that negligent design and construction are creating health and safety problems for patients and staff.
The demand, presented in early April, alleges that a “considerable portion” of the hospital floors is not level or flat and that some of the floors themselves are deteriorating.
“The floor level is a critical safety and operational problem,” says Humber River Health’s claim, presented at the Superior Court of Ontario.
“Floors without a level make personnel move equipment, supplies, food and patients in wheel transport devices. Often, wheels cars should be placed behind rubber caps to prevent cars from sliding out of position.”
The claim statement continues to say that the floor conditions “have led and continue to lead, to health and safety problems” for patients and personnel. It also says that the problems of durability with the floors are having a great operational impact since the “critical rooms” and the hospital areas have not been available due to maintenance.
It was promoted as the first totally digital hospital in North America, the construction of the Humber River Hospital began in 2011 and was inaugurated in October 2015. The installation was built through a public-private partnership with plenary associations of medical care. The Ontario government contracted plenary to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the hospital for 30 years.
Humber River Hospital Alega a defective design and the construction of its floor is affecting the level of attention it can provide.
In a statement, Humber River Health spokesman Joe Gorman said the hospital is “implementing all necessary measures to guarantee the best experience for our patients, personal and community” while working to solve these problems.
Plenary Medical Attention Associations have not yet submitted a defense statement. Due to the contractual obligations, the consortium told CBC Toronto that he could not comment.
It is not the first demand
The floor demand is the last of a series of claims presented in recent years about the alleged problems with the design and construction of the Northwest Hospital of Toronto. Since 2023, four other demands for a total of at least $ 10.4 million have been presented by plenary medical care associations against the contractor and several subcontractors hired to design and build the hospital.
The statements are looking for compensation for damage to floods caused by valve leaks and switches and design failures with its domestic water system, which affected hot and cold water in the patient’s rooms within the first year that opened the hospital, according to judicial archives. The leaks included one above the roof of the Hospital Cancer Care Unit.
The contractor and subcontractors have submitted defense statements in some of those demands. Negan the accusations and any responsibility claimed by the consortium.
Two of the demands on leaks and problems with the water system have generated claims of third parties of the subcontractors that are demanded claiming that another third -party subcontractor must be considered responsible in their place if the courts determine the damages, what they deny.
CBC Toronto contacted the Ministry of Health of Ontario to comment on whether you are worried about these supposed construction and design problems with a public hospital that is only 10 years old and the impact that the problems are having on hospital operations and patient care.
In a statement, a spokesman said that the ministry cannot comment because the matter is before the courts.
