Heart revival unit stolen

Press, 10 August 1985, Page 1

Heart revival unit stolen

The police have appealed for the return of Christchurch Women’s Hospital’s only cardiac arrest revival machine.

The machine and a quantity of drugs were stolen from an emergency trolley outside an operating theatre on the first floor of the hospital between 11 p.m. on Thursday, and 1.30 a.m. yesterday. “It was a senseless prank because the machine is of no use to anyone other than a medical expert,” said Detective Senior-Sergeant Quentin Doig of the Christchurch C. 1.8.

The police and the hospital have appealed to those responsible to return the machine or leave it somewhere where it can be recovered in good condition. A replacement machine has been brought in from

Christchurch Hospital in the meantime, but to get a permanent replacement will be costly and time consuming.

“The stolen machine cost about $12,000, but the latest price for a replacement is $18,500. That is money we can ill-afford,” said the hospital’s acting house manager, Mr lan Latter.

"The machines are not available ‘off-the-shelf’ in New Zealand, so we would be looking at 10 to 12 weeks delay to get another one,” he said.

Mr Latter said it was fortunate the hospital did not have an emergency last night when it was without a machine.

The machine was not used often, but lives were at risk if the hospital did not have one, he said.