Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital scales back surgeries after power outage

Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (HMR) needed to scale back certain hospital activities, including some surgeries, after it was affected by a power outage.

The power outage in the neighbourhood surrounding the hospital was not related to the condition of the building or ongoing construction, a spokesperson told CityNews.

Clara Meagher, with the communications department at the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, says it appears the fire department requested an emergency power outage from Hydro-Québec.

The outage occurred from 11:42 a.m. to 1:18 p.m.

“During the outage, the generators took over as required to power critical activities,” she wrote in an email. “In such situations, the mitigation plan involves slowing down certain activities, particularly in imaging and surgery. This is the case in all Quebec hospitals. We are doing the same with elevators, maintaining only the minimum number required for emergency patient movements.”

The hospital’s dilapidated state was thrust in the spotlight in late April when a storm led to a power outage, leaving several critical units in the dark and delaying more than a dozen emergency surgeries. Ambulances were diverted away from HMR towards other hospitals, staff were trapped in elevators, and some of the building’s windows were shattered.

In the immediate aftermath, hospital staff came forward with reports of rodents, bats and ants inside the aging building.

The Quebec responded by releasing the necessary funds to finance the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital renovation project in its entirety. The first phase of the project, namely the multi-level parking structure, will cost around $90 million.

The Legault government had been promising major renovations at HMR for years, but pushed back the timeline, citing the budget situation and needs elsewhere.

The Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital is one of the largest in Quebec and provides care to nearly 550,000 Montrealers.