Dumped MRI panels inquiry
THE Southern DHB has launched an investigation after an Otago Polytechnic lecturer discovered panels from medical equipment at a Dunedin rubbish dump.
Product design lecturer Andrew Wallace, of Dunedin, said he was ‘‘shocked’’ to discover magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) panels, in good condition, dumped at Otago Waste Management Services in Wickliffe St.
The ‘‘highend’’ General Electric parts were welldesigned and manufactured and looked new, some components still in bubble wrap, he said.
He hoped the panels had not been dumped without consideration being given to repairing them.
Some Dunedin residents had ‘‘fantastic fabrication, engineering and electrical skills’’ and could have easily fixed the panels, he said.
Southern District Health Board women’s, children’s and public health directorate general manager Elaine Chisnall said the two panels were replaced as part of a planned upgrade and maintenance of the MRI scanner at Dunedin Hospital.
An investigation had been launched to find out why the panels had been dumped, she said.
‘‘It is not our usual process for these items.’’
The usual process was for the supplier to remove the panels, along with other obsolete items, on completion of the work.
The board declined to answer questions relating to the age of the panels and if any consideration was given to repairing them.
shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz