Today it was a dress rehearsal, but this weekend it will be for real.

The Niagara Health System held a mock patient transfer from the soon to be old hospital to the new west St. Catharines site this morning, just ahead of the real move on Sunday.

The demonstration involved a pretend Intensive Care Unit patient who was taken through the steps required for transport to the new facility.

It took five staff members and over seven minutes to get the mock patient onto a stretcher by a lift team, who was then handed over to the transport team.

EMS then put the mock patient into an ambulance and transported him to the new site where the reverse was performed.

The patient move logistics will be set up to come off concurrently from all three legacy hospitals in the region. 

Staff and volunteers will be identified by coloured shirts, depending on what they will be doing on Sunday.

Each legacy hospital will choose their own colours.