SCDHB

South Canterbury District Health Board has been advised by external structural engineers that several buildings on the Timaru Hospital campus have been assessed as having high seismic risk.

Chief Executive Chris Fleming says the DHB is acting urgently this week to protect the safety of staff and patients by immediately closing one building and setting up cordons where falling bricks would be a danger in an earthquake. Strengthening work is planned on those buildings that can be fixed.

 A series of meetings have been held today with staff who work in the affected buildings to keep them informed.

"The Board and I take the obligation to protect the safety of staff and public very seriously. Therefore, urgent action is being taken on the affected buildings," Mr Fleming says.

"This will create disruption and inconvenience and is particularly stressful coming just before Christmas, however we are committed to acting quickly when safety concerns are brought to my attention. Keeping patients and staff safe in the event of another major earthquake is essential."

South Canterbury DHB carried out a seismic review of the buildings on the Timaru Hospital site earlier this year and was assured by engineers, at that time, that no urgent action was required. However, recent developments in Christchurch and at Ashburton Hospital have prompted the DHB to commission a second inspection of the buildings. This was carried out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Dec 9 to 12).

After advice from the second engineer was received this morning, the following decisions have been made:

1.    Kowhai House

Kowhai House is a two-storey brick building that houses the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team. It sits on the corner of High Street and Queen Street and was built in the 1930s.

Engineers have advised us to stop using this building permanently. It will close from December 13 (tomorrow). Staff and patients are moving across the road to the Kensington building and the team will provide services from that location.

 This will cause disruption to this service over the next week. Patients will be notified if there is any change to their appointment time, and will be re-directed across the road.

 2.    Health Care Linen – Timaru Hospital Laundry

The laundry building was built in the 1950s and sits at the rear of the hospital site, next to the Botanic Gardens. It houses industrial laundry equipment and office space, and supplies all the linen needs of Timaru Hospital as well as linen to many local accommodation providers, factories and businesses.

Engineers have advised there are some weaknesses in this building. Of main concern is that the bricks on the inside and outside of the building will fall away from the walls in an earthquake.

Unsafe areas will be cordoned off immediately.

 It is possible to make some changes to the building to make it safer, and urgent design work is being carried out this week. Once it starts, the repair work is expected to take up to 10 weeks to complete, however we will attempt to reduce this time if possible.

We do not know yet if the laundry will need to close while these repairs are undertaken. If this happens, the closure will be planned ahead so staff and customers are notified in advance. 

3.     Supply Building

The supply building sits at the rear of the Timaru Hospital site next to the boiler. It houses the Information Technology Department, Hospital Store, Supply and Maintenance. As with the laundry building, the risk with the supply building is falling bricks. Unsafe areas will be cordoned off to protect staff.

We are still looking into what can be done to mitigate this, but strengthening work is planned.

4.    Administration Building

The administration building sits on High Street and was built in 1931. It houses management and administration staff, along with the finance department.

Engineers have advised us that the risk with this building is that the outer layer of bricks will fall off in an earthquake. Staff inside the building will be safe if this happens. The exit routes for staff have been reviewed so that falling masonry is avoided.

We are looking into the possibility of "tying" the outer layer of bricks to the inner layer, along with other strengthening work. 

5.    The rest of the Timaru Hospital site

A peer review of the initial engineer's assessment of the rest of the hospital site is currently being carried out.

More information will be provided when it becomes available.

For more information contact:

Arlene Goss

Communications Manager, South Canterbury District Health Board

Private Bag 911, Timaru

Ph: 03 687 2395, Fax: 03 688 0238, Mobile:  027 276 4259