Health Sciences North will be shutting down their helipad for about a week at the end of May as its service elevator is scheduled for maintenance.
Hospital helipads require regular maintenance and evaluation to ensure the safety of patients and staff. This year helipad elevator maintenance is scheduled for the end of May.
"Like all other hospitals, when we are required to shut down service to the helipad as part of our regular maintenance activities we follow standard down time and safety procedures which require us to shuttle patients to and from the airport, which is a very safe place for helicopters to land," said HSN spokesperson Jason Turbull.
"Given the timing of this maintenance occurring during the pandemic, we will be working with our contractors to expedite the maintenance to minimize the amount of downtime and have the work completed in less than a week."
Maintenance will be performed on the service elevator that goes to the helipad in the North Tower. This maintenance is required in order for HSN to be compliant with current safety standards and regulations. Patient elevators are not impacted.
The hospital expects that this routine maintenance will cause little to no impact to staff or patients as all other elevators in the building will continue to operate. The only way a patient would end up in this specific service elevator to the helipad is if they arrived via air ambulance.
"When we are required to shut down service to the helipad as part of our regular maintenance activities we follow standard down time and safety procedures which require us to shuttle patients to and from the airport," said Turnbull. "They will then be shuttled to HSN for care."
With patient volumes hovering around 80 per cent and HSN only performing urgent procedures, the facility is also not as busy as usual.
While this schedule maintenance is described as "routine", COVID-19 presents added challenges to any job. The hospital indicated that the safety of patients, staff and contractors is a trop priority and there is active screening at all entrances at HSN for anyone that is looking to enter the building.
"Screeners ask everyone who comes to HSN about their health and travel history related to COVID-19. This includes all contractors. Anyone who fails the screening, is not permitted to enter the building," said Turnbull.
Contractors also must follow strict rules around social distancing while at HSN. They also must be equipped with the proper personal protective equipment from their employer if they are coming to HSN and can't maintain social distancing.
In terms of the work happening on the elevator, contractors will be separated by several stories, social distancing can be safely maintained. They are also isolated in the shaft and not in a patient area.
These workers are also equipped with N95 masks as part of their jobs.
