Pipes leak at Windsor Regional Hospital, operating rooms unusable

By Angelica Haggert

When it gets cold, pipes freeze.

When pipes freeze at the hospital, this can have serious consequences.

Two operating rooms were taken out of commission Sunday morning at Windsor Regional Hospital when cooling coils in the air handling system developed leaks.

“This is two rooms out of 20 between the two campuses that are affected, so 10 per cent of our capacity,” said WRH communications manager Steve Erwin.

An exterior vent failed to properly transfer cold air, which resulted in freezing pipes. As the interior heat was turned higher, a leak developed.

“Hopefully in the next 24 hours we’ll have a better indication of what went wrong and how it can be fixed,” said Erwin. “We’re hoping for sooner rather than later.”

The hospital’s recovery plan for Monday and Tuesday aims to ensure few patients will be affected.

“With the two campuses, we have the flexibility to move patients from the Met campus to the Ouellette campus if we need to,” said Erwin.

The cause of the leak is still under investigation.