Humber River Health, a hospital in Toronto, has filed a $100-million lawsuit over what it says is poor construction that is putting patients and staff at risk.
The hospital says the floors are uneven or bubbling in almost every part of the building. This makes it hard for staff to safely move equipment, supplies, food, and even patients. In some cases, carts have to be held in place with rubber stoppers so they don’t roll away.
The hospital is suing Plenary Health Care Partnerships Humber L.P., the company that was hired to build and maintain the facility. Construction started in 2011, and the hospital opened about ten years ago. The deal was a public-private partnership, meaning the government and private companies worked together on the project. The same company is expected to maintain the hospital for 30 years.
According to the hospital, the main issues may come from the way the concrete floor slabs were installed and not leveled properly before the flooring was added. This has caused the rubber flooring to bubble and tear in important areas like the emergency room, birthing unit, and recovery rooms.
Mattie Siemiatycki, a director at the University of Toronto who studies infrastructure, says this problem affects everyone in Ontario. He says the point of public-private partnerships is to keep these risks with the private companies, not pass them back to the public.
He also says that the fact this is going to court shows the system isn’t working as it should. These partnerships are supposed to have built-in ways to fix problems without going to court, so people can get the care they need.
Plenary Health, the hospital, and the Ministry of Health have not commented, saying they can’t speak about it while it’s in court.
