Hospital floors faulty

Press, 2 May 1981, Page 6

Hospital floors faulty

PA Wellington Wellington Hospital is being forced to close 10 of its new operating theatres for repairs because the floors are giving way under the weight of the operating tables, according to the chairman of the Wellington Hospital Board, Dr Maicolm Nicolson. Starting on May 8 the theatres will close five at a time to allow parts of the floors to be replaced. The theatres are in the new clini-cal-services block and have been in use for only a few months. The first five theatres opened in October, 1980, and the remaining five in February.

So far no blame has been attached to anybody for the fault in the floors. With the exception of cardiac and eye operations the theatres handle all surgery at Wellington Hospital. Hospital staff believe that they will be able to cope with the shutdown. In an emergency they can reopen the old theatres in the main hospital building at 24 hours : notice. Dr Nicholson said at a meeting of the Hospital -Board on Thursday that the problem had arisen because the floors of the new block were not level. The floors had to be levelled precisely before vi-

nyl flooring was laid using a plaster coat- of cemented sand. The plaster coat was not standing up to the movement of operating tables between the anaesthetic rooms and the theatres. Patients are anaesthetised on mobile operating tables in the anaesthetic rooms adjacent to the operating theatres. They are then wheeled through for surgery. Mr Brian Corkill, the deputy medical superintend-ent-in-chief for the board, said that the closing of the theatres for repairs would not mean a big reduction in operations because only six theatres were usually used at ■ any bne time.