Hospital temporarily closed main D wing entrance

The interim president and CEO of the Brant Community Healthcare System is impressed with how staff came together to solve a sinkhole problem at Brantford General Hospital.

“It was amazing to see how quickly everyone got together to be able to talk through the problem and how they could support efforts to address it,” Erin Sleeth said. “It was all hands on deck.”

Sleep organized a quick meeting with city officials to ensure they were made aware of the problem and any impact it might have on them.

“We just needed to be as proactive as possible,” Sleeth said.

The sinkhole, which was approximately three-feet wide and eight-feet deep, is in a utility tunnel which runs underneath the area where people would walk to reach the D wing entrance. Electrical, water and oxygen lines are run through the utility tunnel which is external or outside not underneath D wing.

The hospital has contracted engineers to complete subterranean mapping of the entire area to determine if there are any other voids.

Citing safety, Sleeth said the D wing entrance is temporarily closed while hospital officials continue to assess the situation and determine next steps.

“The safety of our patients, staff, volunteers and visitors is paramount,” Sleeth said.

Visitors and patients can enter and exit D wing through a door located to the left of the temporarily-closed main D wing doors through the Women’s Health Clinic. All clinical services remain operational and signage is in place to help those visiting the hospital.

For a map detailing the temporary entrance visit www.bchsys.org/en/news/temporary-d-wing-entry-update-at-brantford-general-hospital.aspx.

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