The schedule for construction of a new renal dialysis unit at the Glace Bay Hospital has encountered setbacks that the Nova Scotia Health Authority is attributing to issues including social distancing regulations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to questions from the Cape Breton Post, health authority spokesperson Brendan Elliott indicated the unit, which had been expected to start receiving patients this spring, is now targeted for completion in the summer.

“The Glace Bay dialysis project is moving ahead as best it can during this difficult time,” Elliott wrote in a statement. “We are experiencing somewhat reduced workforce numbers and slower progress due to the effects of social distancing restrictions of the workers.”

Elliott added that members of the project team are doing their best to keep the project as close to schedule as possible.

The project is using the services of local contractor Joneljim, for both interior and exterior work.

Mark LeCouter, senior director for the CBRM health-care redevelopment, said in an October update on the project that, at that point, everything was on schedule, with no unforeseen circumstances or disruptions to the operation of the building.

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal issued the tender for the unit’s construction last April, two years after the project was announced.

The estimated cost for construction of the unit is $7.2 million. Part of the project will be funded through a $1.7-million bequest from the estate of the late Thomas Peach of Glace Bay, who left the money with the intent of helping establish dialysis services in the community.

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