Damage repair at UBC Hospital will take months
Overhang next to urgent care centre hit by truck in July to be fixed in early 2019
Four months after a truck smashed into a structure at the urgent care centre at UBC Hospital, the damage has not been repaired.
But an official said that while it looks bad, there’s nothing unsafe about it.
The damage occurred in July when a delivery truck attempted to pass through the covered drop-off area and struck the overhang right outside the urgent care clinic. It has a clearance of 9.6 feet and the driver apparently underestimated the height of his truck.
“No one was injured in the incident. Patient care was unaffected,” said Carrie Stefanson, a spokeswoman for Vancouver Coastal Health. “There was extensive ... damage to the overhang and it was closed (temporarily) to vehicle and pedestrian traffic.”
Ambulances and other vehicles temporarily used a different entrance. Once engineers assessed the damage and declared the area structurally sound, operations returned to normal. But repairs have been delayed because of “competing interests on other projects,” namely construction of the adjacent Centre for Brain Health.
Stefanson said it’s expected that the repairs will be done early in 2019.
“This is being covered through insurance,” Stefanson said.
The Urgent Care Centre at UBC Hospital is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. It is staffed by emergency doctors and nurses who treat minor medical emergencies that don’t require admission to hospital, such as broken bones, fevers, minor burns and eye problems.
There was extensive … damage to the overhang and it was closed (temporarily) to vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
Vancouver Coastal Health leases the building from UBC.
Postmedia reported last week that Vancouver General Hospital had to reschedule dozens of cases after a construction mishap caused water to leak into operating rooms while surgeries were underway. Operating rooms are now back to normal.