Delays put strain on hospital sterile unit

Press, 13 April 1978, Page 6

Delays put strain on hospital sterile unit

Bv

JOHN BROWN

Sterilisation facilities in l Christchurch hospitals are being overtaxed because no, firm plans have been made to provide a proposed central, •terile supply department. in the North Canterbury Hospital Board's area must make do “hand to mouth" fori • terile equipment and dres-' Recently sterile equipment had to be borrowed from the Drago Hospital Board to allow; :>ne of the new wards at ; No danger to any patient ; is seen, but existing sterilis-li Btion facilities might have to become makeshift because nobody knows when the new) unit might open or how it; Th® hr*arri hac

the principle of setting up a central sterile supply depart- : ment, but planning is bogged Originally it was hoped to have a sterilisation unit open by the tune the SJ7M first stage of Chnstchurrh Hospital redevelopmetn was: lndudes ed i2hospital' ’ wards and a new kitchen block, will; he ip full use by the end of; this year, but it includes no new facilities for sterilisa-, tion.

wards will put more pressure; on sterile supplies, which now! i, come mostly from Christ-; • church Hospital and The; ! Princess Margaret Hospital. i The new theatre sterile; supply unit at Christchurch • Hospital will provide some; < relief but this unit will not] •be completed for about a; 'tear. The proposed central] I sterile supply department is planned to go on the site of ,the present Christchurch Hos-' pital laundry in St Asaph Street, but his site will not; be vacant for at least two years until a central laundrvi opens at Sunnyside Hospital.; The board’? planning officer

(Mr L. D. Hayward) said yesterday that most hospital boards had a central sterile; unit catering for all instituItions, and had specially ‘(trained staff. Mr Hayward said there was] i; still time to begin firm planning for a centra! sterile i; unit, but he agreed that concern about it was an “early! warning" of what might become a serious problem. The board’s commissioning officer (Mr P. N. Andrew) ; told a meeting of the board’s i works committee yesterday , that urgent action must be taken on planning for the i new unit.