PGRH Lights Out

Thursday, June 07, 2007 10:57 AM

Prince George Regional Hospital is trying to cope with a power outage.

Spokesman Mark Karjaluoto says the lights went out at about 9:00 this morning. "It is not known at this time, why the power went out" says Karjaluoto, "We have had to make changes to the surgical slate in that all non emergency surgeries have to be cancelled. "

At the moment, about one third of the hospital has power, although it isn’t certain if that is being supplied by the hospital’s back up generators or if it is being supplied by the hydro grid.

Karjaluoto says there are 7 patients in the intensive care unit "I know they are receiving care, at this point there are no plans to move patients to any other facility."

The lights went out while some surgeons were in the midst of an emergency surgery. "They had to contact the blood bank with cell phones because the phone lines were down" says one Doctor. That surgery was completed and the patient is now in the intensive care unit.

Karjaluoto says the Hospital is still open "But people need to know, that if they come here, it is not business as usual."

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Posted on Thursday, June 07, 2007 10:57 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: lunarguy on June 7 2007 12:51 PM

It is nice to know that the hospital is not ready for a power outage caused by either external or internal to the building complex. Scary that the internal phone system, which should be on battery back up failed as well.

Posted by: Norm on June 7 2007 2:03 PM

where has the hospital administrator been?
on holidays?
maybe the question should be does the maintenance supervisor still have a job?
sounds like doctors are not the things we are short of at the hospital.

Posted by: jonnypg on June 7 2007 2:34 PM

One way to save money!

Posted by: Becca on June 7 2007 3:22 PM

It is not that the phones don't have batteries they work on a network. So if the network is down so are the land lines.

Posted by: bohemian on June 7 2007 3:49 PM

Why were the phones dead when the power went out? These are completely different systems (networks).

Something is fishy when hydro AND the phones go down at the same time.

This needs more explaination or revision by Karjaluoto.

Posted by: lunarguy on June 7 2007 3:58 PM

Oh no ! You mean the hospital put in IP phones without putting in UPS's and power back up for the switches ? ( Yes I am a technical type and have a degree in emergency planning / recovery ). Always amazes me organizations that say they are ready but do they ever actually test themselves.

Posted by: ontwin on June 7 2007 4:02 PM

Since your all "experts" in the field of hydro and phone why aren't you down there helping??
What does the hospital administrator have to do with a power outage??Explain!
Like any major structure there are back-up systems that are supposed to take over in the event of failure..these are prone to failure as they are mechanical also.
Remember when Ontario had a three day power outage last summer and showed how inadequately they were prepared? Be thankful it was for only a few hours!!

Posted by: lunarguy on June 7 2007 4:26 PM

The fault was internal to the hospital, not BChydro's fault. So yes the hospital administrator is ultimately responsible for the lack of planning and resources to handle this.

Can you imagine if the hydro was out for three days what state the hospital would be in !

I do provide consulting services in this field but hospital is not one of my clients, who knows maybe in the future.

Posted by: zoom on June 7 2007 4:48 PM

Forgot to pay the bill

Posted by: bohemian on June 7 2007 6:11 PM

ontwin said:

"Since your all "experts" in the field of hydro and phone why aren't you down there helping??"

I for one wasn't claiming to be an expert, but anyone can do this simple experiment:

1) Turn off all the breakers in your home;
2) Check to see if the phone works.

If it does (and it will) you will discover what is common knowledge -- the typical phone is powered by a source other than hydro (the phone cable powers the phone).

The proposition that the phones may be IP phones may explain the situation.

But this is my point. Why on earth would the hospital elliminate this important reduncancy? This is a question that must be asked and answered.

ps - I bet the toilets flush; different system.

Posted by: ontwin on June 7 2007 6:35 PM

I was speaking in general terms-did I say BC hydro or telus?? Internal power failure was the cause (transformer).
As for the admin end of it-I'm sure they'll be having yet another meeting to cover their a**es.What lack of planning??it works on paper and that's all they know in the tower.