{"id":481788,"date":"2026-02-18T00:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T00:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/481788\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T00:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T00:04:10","slug":"montreal-general-tops-list-of-quebec-hospitals-in-dire-need-of-repair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/481788\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal General tops list of Quebec hospitals in dire need of repair"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A new assessment of Quebec\u2019s hospital network has revealed a grim reality: the state of the province’s medical infrastructure is far worse than previously reported, with the number of buildings rated in poor condition more than doubling in the last year. <\/p>\n

According to data updated by Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec and compiled by Radio-Canada, 38 per cent of the province’s 594 hospital buildings were considered to be in “poor” (rated D) or “very poor” (rated E) condition as of early 2026.<\/p>\n

Overall, the number of dilapidated buildings jumped from about 100 in early 2025 to 227 a year later.<\/p>\n

As a result, the price tag to fix the network has exploded. The asset maintenance deficit for hospitals, which stood at around $900 million last year, has now surpassed $2 billion.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Montreal General tops list of Quebec hospitals that need repair:\"\"<\/p>\n

Montreal General Hospital ranked most deteriorated health facility in Quebec, new data shows<\/p>\n

Nearly half of Quebec\u2019s hospitals in dire need of repair are in the city of Montreal, according to new figures obtained by Radio-Canada. The Montreal General Hospital is currently faring worse than any other in the province.Montreal at the epicentre<\/p>\n

Nearly half of the province’s most dilapidated hospitals are located in Montreal. Topping the list of the most dire cases is the Montreal General Hospital, followed by the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, the site of recent burst water pipes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just last year, the Montreal General received a “B” rating, indicating it was in good condition. This year, its status plummeted to an “E,” the lowest possible grade, deeming the infrastructure in “very bad” shape.<\/p>\n

“It is truly a critical situation,” said Colleen Timm, executive director of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).<\/p>\n

Timm revealed that the hospital has suffered 260 water leaks since the start of 2024, many of which have directly impacted patient care.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She noted that the building\u2019s entire plumbing and electrical systems need to be replaced. The maintenance deficit for the hospital is estimated at $249 million. <\/p>\n

A provincewide problem<\/p>\n

While the Montreal General is a stark example, it is far from the only facility in trouble.<\/p>\n

Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec figures indicate that the Douglas Mental Health Institute in Montreal, the H\u00f4tel-Dieu de Qu\u00e9bec in Quebec City and the Saint-J\u00e9r\u00f4me regional hospital each require approximately $100 million in repairs.<\/p>\n

Sonia Dugas, vice-president of finance at Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec, described the rapid deterioration of the network as “worrisome.”<\/p>\n

She explained that the sudden spike in poor ratings is partly due to a long-overdue update of the province’s infrastructure data.<\/p>\n

“It is work that had not been done for several years \u2014 to properly evaluate [the buildings] so we can prioritize and manage the budget to have an up-to-date picture,” she said.<\/p>\n

Dugas said the province needs to make sure its old buildings are properly maintained before making new ones.<\/p>\n

The financial backlog is steep. Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec currently has a maintenance budget of $1 billion, but Dugas admits the actual cost to carry out necessary repairs will be at least double that amount.<\/p>\n

WATCH | A pipe burst at the Douglas, leading to major damage:\"\"<\/p>\n

Flood cleanup begins at Montreal\u2019s Douglas Hospital. Staff worry it could take weeks<\/p>\n

Burst pipes at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal flooded about half of its research building, according to staff. The regional health authority blames the cold weather and aging infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-481788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}