SCDHB

A million dollars has been spent upgrading operating theatres and equipment at Timaru Hospital in the past year.

Timaru Hospital has four operating theatres that deliver more than 300 operations a month.

Over the past 15 months the theatres have been upgraded to meet the demands and standards of a modern hospital.

Chief Medical Officer Bill Taine says the upgrades will benefit patients directly and immediately, as well as aiding theatre staff to deliver as good a service as possible.

“Everyone has  been extremely tolerant in working around the improvements as they have progressed, which has been difficult at times, but service has been maintained as much as possible by the efforts of theatre staff,” he says.

General Manager, Secondary Services, Christine Nolan says theatre staff have been active in selecting, and where necessary trialing theatre equipment before decisions are made.

“This means we are buying the right product for the job at Timaru Hospital. The economy for the hospital is in matching the tools of the trade to the types of operating work we complete here. We are getting the most out of the equipment to deliver timely, quality care.”

The following work has been carried out to date:

Starting at Christmas, 2009, the theatre sluice rooms were upgraded at a cost of $42,300. A sluice room is a cleaning room where theatre waste is disposed of safely.

• Two new operating tables have been bought at a cost of $162,000.
• An ophthalmology microscope, used in eye surgery, has been bought for $96,000.
• A urology laser, used to treat urological disease such as bladder disease, has been bought at a cost of $98,000.
• An endoscopic reprocessor, used to disinfect equipment used in endoscopy procedures, has been bought at a cost of $83,500.
• New sealing doors between the scrub rooms and the theatres have been built costing $4,000.
• The sterile storage room, used to store sterile theatre equipment and consumables, has been upgraded at a cost of $65,000.
• New theatre bollards have been installed at a cost of $257,000. This cost includes infrastructure work such as new gas pipes and electrical wiring. Theatre bollards are pendulums that are attached to the ceiling and provide connection points for electrical devices and gas used in anaesthesia and surgical procedures. There are four bollards in each operating theatre.

The following work is still underway:

Three light towers with all the equipment needed for endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery will be installed in the next 12 months at a combined cost of $180,000. Laparoscopic surgery is otherwise known as “keyhole surgery”.

• New theatre lights have been bought for $145,000 and will be installed by Easter.

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