Too much hubbub

Brain surgery is, officially, a more important job than constructing Wellington’s bus hubs. Greater Wellington Regional Council has revealed why work on its Newtown bus hub suddenly went silent last week. It turns out the reason – which the regional council, hand-on-heart, says is true – was that brain surgeons at Wellington Hospital asked for the work to stop while they performed a delicate operation. Power fluctuations and vibrations from the tools were being felt inside the operating theatre. Work on the bus hub resumed once the operation was completed. Wellington Hospital’s Delwyn Hunter said neurosurgeons were using a microscope that was sensitive to the vibrations caused by the work outside last Monday. ‘‘In the best interests of the patient, the surgery was paused while we asked for work on the bus hub to be halted,’’ he said. ‘‘The surgery resumed after a short period of time, and was completed uneventfully.’’