Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) says it should have the bulk of the 71 elective surgeries recently postponed due to a boiler failure caught up by the end of March.
CKHA President and CEO Adam Topp told CK News Today that the surgeons and anesthesiologists have been lined up and the operating rooms will be open on Sundays and other extended hours for the next 16 weeks to clear the cancelled hip replacement, cataract, and gall bladder surgeries.
The surgeries were postponed because surgical instruments couldn't be properly sterilized with steam provided by the boilers.
Topp insisted that the cancelled surgeries will not fall to the bottom of the list.
He also hopes the new boilers will be in place by September in time for the cold weather, adding that CKHA has a $5 million deficit and is requesting $16 million in government funding for infrastructure renewal and equipment, such as boilers and elevators.
"Totally replacing the boilers is $4 million. So, it's something that we need help with," said Topp. "The boilers have been on that request for assistance from the Health Infrastructure and Renewal Fund for a number of years."
Topp noted CKHA is at the mercy of government funding.
"The boilers are on the list, but they decided to knock themselves out before we got to them. So, we'll have to move them up on the list. We don't have a choice, we'll be spending that money, whether we get it from the government or not, but also we'll be asking for it," he said.
Topp noted that three temporary boilers are in place to get them to the Fall when the permanent boilers are installed.
