A water line break in the basement of Nanaimo Regional General Hospital early Saturday resulted in three cancelled surgeries and damage to several areas.
Anya Nimmon, Vancouver Island Health Authority spokeswoman, said a main waterline broke under the concrete slab in the basement at about 3 a.m.
Three offices, a mechanical room and the medical device reprocessing department, which cleans and sterilizes medical equipment, were impacted, but facilities staff responded quickly to get the area clean and dry.
Workers had to cut up the floor, as the pipe was plugged with gravel due to the rupture, and by Sunday new concrete was poured, said Nimmon.
She said by Monday morning, the hospital was functioning normally and three non-urgent surgeries that were postponed due to the rupture were completed that day – because it happened over the weekend, there were not many surgeries booked.
The incident cost the health authority more than $50,000, Nimmon added, and insurance will cover costs.