For more than two weeks, the ice and water machine in the patient care unit has been broken and it may not be fixed until the fall, or later.

Since the machine broke, health care practioners have been bringing in flats of bottled water to the approximately 30 patients on the third level.

President of the BC Nurses鈥� Union, Christine Sorensen, is concerned about the situation.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very concerning that the patients and staff have been impacted by a broken filtered water system for more than a month. Really, there were no immediate actions taken by the health authority until the nurses started to press the issue,鈥� Sorensen said.

Northern Health said the water machine won鈥檛 be replaced until an ongoing water study is complete.

鈥淭he use and provision of bottled water in the facility is an interim measure while we await the results of the water assessment, for which a RFP [request for proposal] was issued earlier this year (in March),鈥� said Eryn Collins, a communications officer with Northern Health.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a firm ETA on the assessment results; the water study is underway, and results are expected in the fall.鈥�

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Collins added the ice and water machine won鈥檛 be replaced until the health authority receives the results of the study. Staff and patients will be provided bottled water until they have more information on what they should do.

In April, Northern Health hired a consultant to examine three of its facilities 鈥� the hospital, Acropolis Manor and Summit Residences 鈥� for potential contamination.

Sorensen is a public health nurse, and said that the water at the hospital is 鈥渂rownish, it has a taste, it has odour. People say that they feel unwell after. At the very least, I think the water needs to be tested by an environmental health officer.鈥�

The study was instigated after muddy water was found in the occupational therapist room, on the second floor in the doctors鈥� office and the fourth floor in the diabetes office.

鈥淧eople come to the hospital because it鈥檚 a place where they can be cared for. We should expect that the water in the hospital that鈥檚 provided is safe to drink, safe to utilize. Nurses have to wash their hands frequently. While we have a short-term plan in place to provide filtered bottled drinking water, the question we have is what is the long-term plan that the health authority has?鈥� Sorensen said.

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shannon.lough@thenorthernview.com
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