Hospital upset about delays

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34130, 17 April 1976, Page 7

Hospital upset about delays

The lack of progress on plans for a new kitchen at Sunnyside Hospital was another “bad example of procrastination by the Department of Health.” the chief planning oflicer with the North Canterbury Hospital Board (Mr L. Haywood) told a hospital works committee meeting on Wednesday.

) Mr Haywood said that approval was given .on November 18, 1975. to the archijtects to proceed with working drawings, “subject to of Health comments to follow.” These comments had still not been received and therefore the architects had not been able to progress on working drawings. "There is a certain amount of urgency for this project. We have been promised these comments, and they should have been here four weeks ago,” said Mr Haywood. Mrs L. C. Gardiner said that it was a “ridiculous” situation, but there was nothing that the committee could do about it. Mr C. F. Whitty also expressed concern that the Department of Health was holding up progress on the Christchurch Hospital kitchen. He said that if the kitchen was not completed at the same time as stage one,

310 beds in the block could not be used.

However, the superintend-ent-in-chief (Mr L. McH. Berry) said that the department could n,ot be blamed for these delays, because they had not received the final drawings. There was still minor work to do on the drawings, and the department had asked the board to see if they could cut the costs, particularly on finishes.

Spina] injury unit: Department of Health approval is still being awaited before tenders are called for the Burwood Hospital spinal injury unit. Mr Haywood said that a committee from the department would visit Christchurch to look at the proposal site. Open-heart surgery unit.— The acting chairman of the works committee (Mr T. C. Grigg) said that the openheart surgery unit proposal had been referred to the Hospital Advisory Council. A full report has been submitted to the board, with detailed estimates of cost for the approved revised scheme. Department of Health approval had been sought. “It is not in the Minister of Health’s court at the moment, but it will be in a few days,” said Mr Grigg.