The freight elevator at Saskatchewan’s largest hospital is being repaired, according to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). The SHA said it became aware of intermittent operating issues with the freight elevator at Royal University Hospital (RUH) about three weeks ago. The standard elevators are most used for patient transport. The freight elevator is only used for a small number of patients “such as patients with larger body sizes or those who require multiple pieces of medical equipment during transport,” according to Kevin Hare, the SHA’s vice-president of provincial clinical and support services. Saskatchewan NDP MLA Matt Love said he’s been told by healthcare workers that “there is no workaround for certain patients other than disconnecting a ventilator in order to fit them, along with their care team, into a standard elevator.” The SHA disputes that claim. “At no point were patients disconnected from any medical equipment supporting their care, and appropriate clinical supervision was maintained throughout all patients that required transports,” Hare said. “There has been no compromise to patient safety or care quality because of this elevator disruption.” The SHA said replacement parts have been ordered and repairs are scheduled to be completed by Thursday.
