A sewer emergency that closed off access for visitors to Battlefords Union Hospital has been resolved.
Prairie North Health Region said that the water/sewer emergency at the hospital, which resulted in water through the main floor of the hospital, has been repaired and the hospital was fully functional again later in the day.
According to Linda Lewis of Prairie North Health Region who spoke with the Regional Optimist earlier in the day, the situation unfolded in the early morning hours of June 1.
"There is water throughout the main floor entrance area and in some of the departments and offices," said Lewis.
It was declared a "code-brown" situation, with code brown referring to "hazardous material" - in this case, sewage. Both areas were closed off.
However the code-brown situation ended as of 3:15 p.m. and the sewage system is again fully functional. The health region has identified a significant blockage in the main sewer line as the reason for the incident.
The health region also thanked the public for their patience and understanding during the situation.
At around 11 a.m. the source of the blockage was identified and crews worked to rectifying the problem. A vacuum truck was on site to help remove the water and work got under way to clean the area.
Access to the facility was restricted for the day. Only emergency patients with scheduled appointments were being allowed into the facility, and that continued into the afternoon. Visitors were not being allowed in through the main doors. Instead they were routed through the physiotherapy doors on the west side, south of the ambulance bay.
The hospital was able to continue with some surgeries Wednesday, including dental surgeries. However, there was limited water use and no drainage. Areas of the hospital where water and facilities could be used were identified, but those areas were limited.
