Hospital's botched reform
Doors hanging off hinges and beds can’t be wheeled in or out
THE REGIONAL health services provided funds for the surgical ward of Villajoyosa’s Marina Baixa hospital to be reformed.
Now, barely a month after the work was finished and the ward reopened, the head of the ward has ordered various rooms to be closed off, as many defects had been detected including dented walls, doors hanging off as they are too heavy, or doorways too narrow for beds to be wheeled in or out, rendering them useless.
When the work was put out to tender, the regional health service chose the cheapest option, €114,000 put forward by the company who is also in charge of the hospital’s day-today maintenance. This was a good €60,000 cheaper than tenders put in by other companies.
The first noticeable effect of choosing by far the cheapest company, is that the work took longer than first estimated. Seventeen rooms in the surgical ward were closed in July to be reformed, the idea being that they would be finished by the end of the summer. This period was deemed ideal, as there are less programmed operations due to staff holidays.
By September, the work still had not been completed and at times, there were reports by the hospital unions of only one person working. Work was finally finished mid December, following a stern ultimatum from hospital management, as the hospital could not function properly with a shortage of the 34 beds in the 17 rooms. In addition, the false ceiling of another ward fell down and it had to be closed off as well, and with no beds available, patients needing to be admitted had to be sent to other hospitals.
Once issued with the ultimatum, the company brought in extra workers and rushed to finish the rooms. These were reopened and it was soon evident that a botch job had been carried out. One room was immediately closed as the doorway was 70 cms wide, when it should have been 112 cms wide, rendering it impossible to wheel a bed in or out. This room is currently being used as a storeroom to give it some use.
Another room had a door put in that was too heavy for the walls to support its weight, so it’s hanging off. Extra dollops of concrete applied to the wall quickly reinforced other doors to prevent them dropping off.
In the bathrooms, sockets are on the same side of the wall as taps, and this is illegal. Walls have dents in their rendering, plus other minor defects.
The head of the ward has put the full blame on the company in charge of the work, and has demanded that they repair all the defects without any extra cost.
CAR PARK
At least patients and visitors will soon be able to park more easily at the hospital as work in now underway on the new car park facility to the left of the main building.