Wellington's health services face uncertainty as Hutt Hospital bosses work out when they will close the main hospital block.
Hutt Valley District Health Board told staff yesterday the Heretaunga Block, which contains the maternity, children's, cardiology, burns, general and orthopaedics wards, was earthquake-prone and patients would have to be moved out while it is fixed.
The block has 210-bed spaces and accounts for 25 percent of the physical capacity across the Hutt, Kenepuru, and Wellington hospitals.
The DHB says the risk is low for patients and staff and it is working on a plan for where multiple services could go. There may also be temporary buildings erected.
Sarah Dwan is 32 weeks pregnant and planning on giving birth at Hutt Hospital but now is not sure where she will end up delivering her baby.
"It is worrying and quite upsetting for residents on where they would actually go to safely deliver their babies if home birth is not an option. It's really hard because it's like you've been given this bombshell but not knowing am I going to be affected by this," she said.
Dwan is concerned about the lack of options for expecting parents in the Hutt, particularly after a birthing unit closed last year.
"Wellington Hospital is only 20 minutes away, or 12 minutes in a quick ambulance, but it still would impact how you feel about getting the help whereas in the Hutt I am only about six minutes away from the hospital," she said.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton expects health services across the Wellington region will be affected.
"I heard they're looking at private and aged residential care as options for decanting patients over a longer term and I am sure it is going to impact Kenepuru and Wellington Hospitals as well."
Dalton also feared the Hutt would be joining a list of hospitals across the country waiting for building upgrades.
"One concern we have is there's already a backlog of hospital builds, rebuilds, refits that's dragging its knuckles so we can't really afford to have another one in the queue," she said.
The 40-year-old Heretaunga Block has an earthquake rating somewhere below 34 percent of the new building standard.
Nic Brooke, an engineer and concrete expert at Compusoft Engineering, said while that sort of rating is not high-risk day-to-day, the hospital block looked to have been assessed against a high standard.
"As an engineer, I would have no particular concerns about being in an earthquake-prone building on any given day, whether that be a hospital or otherwise. Part of the reason for that is this had been assessed as a higher importance level building. Really what that means is that for a given earthquake score, the building is relatively safer than the same score applied to a normal office building, for instance. So it's a very nuanced sort of situation," Brooke said.
The District Health Board chief executive declined to be interviewed about the plan for patients and services.
Hospital 'well beneath' building standard - Chris Bishop
National list MP Chris Bishop, based in Hutt South, said he learned in the hours following the announcement the building was only 15 percent of the new building standard.
"It's well beneath the acceptable number," he said, and it was unclear what that meant and whether there would be further assessments. "Sometimes there is a bit of back and forth around the exact assessments, engineers disagree. [They] need to find a consensus - this has happened with lots of other buildings."
Bishop said with the hospital having 79 percent of the bed capacity of Lower Hutt and 25 percent of the available beds in the region, there had to be a quick decision on whether to remediate, replace or have another option.
"The DHB hasn't been upfront about exactly what the information they have shown."
Lower Hutt mayor Campbell Barry told Morning Report the DHB needed to front and state what the percentage is for the building.
"It's often quite complicated - it might be certain parts of the building. All of that information needs to be in the public domain."
"Better to be transparent in these situations."
He understood the plan for where services would be going would be out on 22 June.
Hutt South MP Ginny Andersen said the DHB had received information only recently, on 13 May, and was acting rapidly.
"As with other buildings in Wellington they've got a period of time to rectify it but I understand they are going to move quite quickly."
Andersen said she had been given an assurance from government ministers that they are committed to having a fully operational hospital in the Hutt Valley.
"While there may be disruptions in the short term, the government is committed to ensuring that the Hutt Valley retains good quality hospital facilities that are as good as new or better than the ones we have got," Andersen said. She could not give a timeframe or cost.
The District Health Board chief executive declined to be interviewed about the plan for patients and services.
RNZ
