A Toronto hospital cancelled all “non-essential” activities on Friday after a boiler system failure cut off its supply of heat and hot water.
Unity Health Toronto called the boiler failure at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in the city’s west end an “emergency situation” affecting its ability to provide services across the hospital.
“The health and safety of all of our patients is a top priority and we are working to keep our buildings warm as possible as we resolve the issue,” a statement posted to the Unity Health website said.
Unity Health said unless it’s a life-threatening emergency, patients should seek out another hospital’s emergency department. All non-essential activities were cancelled Friday across its ambulatory, procedural and surgical areas.
The statement said patients receiving dialysis or chemotherapy treatments are not affected and should still attend their appointments.
Patients with scheduled appointments will be contacted directly by their care team, the hospital network said.
In an update shortly before noon on Friday, Unity Health said it was not restricting visitors and had no planned patient transfers.
“But we continue to monitor temperatures and this evolving situation,” the update read.
Temperatures were expected to top out at -3 C in Toronto on Friday, before dropping to -13 C overnight.
Unity Health said it could not accept “generous offers” from community members of blankets and space heaters.
Loved ones can bring extra clothing or blankets for in-patients if they want to, but the hospital network said electronic items are not being accepted for safety reasons.
A spokesperson declined an interview and referred to the statement when reached for comment Friday.
The network also operates two other hospitals in the city, St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare.