Santa Cabrini Hospital shuts down ORs after power failure

The Santa Cabrini Ospedale Hospital in Montreal’s Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie neighbourhood has cancelled all scheduled operations on Friday due to issues with one of its power generators.

The hospital is undergoing major expansion and modernization works — including a new operating room — and requires two generators to temporarily supply power to its facilities.

According to a statement from the hospital, smoke was reported near the construction site.

“It is normal for some smoke to be emitted when this type of generator is in operation. However, the generator that failed did emit more smoke than usual,” the hospital said. “The situation is under control and poses no risk to the public or staff.”

Still, as a preventative measure to ensure the safety of all surgical procedures, all scheduled surgeries for the day were cancelled.

The hospital said there are no other impacts on services, and it remains operational.

By 2 p.m. the hospital said technical teams had fully stabilized the system and equipment was gradually restarted.

“As is the case with any power failure or switchover, only critical areas and equipment are given priority in order to ensure the continuity of essential care,” the hospital said. “Other areas remain minimally lit to ensure the safety of staff and users.”

It added that some clinics slowed down their activities, but were able to resume their services.

The hospital will contact those whose appointments have been postponed as soon as possible.

With files from Noovo Info.