A woman who is staying at Royal Columbian Hospital's Mental Health and Substance Use Wellness Centre says her care is being disrupted by a problem with the water that has led to “ice cold” showers.
Mary (not her real name as the Record is protecting her identity) has been staying at the new centre as she changes medications to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.
While she says the centre “does not feel like a hospital” with large private rooms and “nice” common areas, the lack of warm or hot water has been disruptive to her care, said Mary, adding she has had to isolate due to being “exposed” to COVID-19 during her stay. The 393,000-square-foot centre opened in summer 2020 and includes 75 inpatient beds.
“The issue is that we have not had warm water for a few days now, and very little water pressure,” she said. “But I think the worst part is the lack of warm water - it is ice cold, like running a hose in the winter. I'm actually having a hard time remembering when I last had a proper shower.”
Mary said that she’s been told to wait for the water to warm up, but she says it never really does and trying to wash her hair has been “unbearable.”
“Going without a shower for a few days might not be a big deal for some people, but for people who are working on improving their mental health, not being able to shower can really negatively impact someone's recovery,” Mary said. “For some people, part of their recovery process involves getting up each day and taking a shower. For others, maybe having a shower helps calm them. And for anybody, feeling unclean while going about the day can feel very gross and impact how they feel mentally.”
In a statement to the Record, Fraser Health said the issue is due to a project aimed at “adjusting” the water temperature in the centre.
“Fraser Health is adjusting the water temperature for hand hygiene sinks and showers in the Mental Health and Substance Use Wellness Centre at Royal Columbian Hospital. This work will be completed in the coming week,” Fraser Health said. “At this time, the water in the building is a reasonable temperature for washing hands and bathing. Staff are advising patients that, when bathing, they may need to allow the water to run for a period of time to reach the desired warmth. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes our patients while we complete this work.”
Mary disagreed with that statement, saying that waiting for the water to get to bearable temperature has not worked. Mary also said that patients haven’t been given proper information about why the issue is happening.
“In such a new building it's unfortunate to have such a huge issue. I also find it odd that it has gone on so long without anyone hearing of a solution.”
