Surgery hiccup
Aircon issues force brief closure of operating theatres
ISSUES with an airconditioning unit at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva forced the temporary closure of six out of the eight operating theatres last week.
The issue came to light when the parents of a one-month-old baby scheduled for surgery raised concerns after the infant was forced to go without food or water for hours on two occasions, only to be told the operation could not go ahead.
Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete (pictured) said the issue was resolved and the child successfully treated.
“The operating theatres at CWM Hospital last week had an issue with the airconditioning system,” he said.
SURGERIES scheduled at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, Suva, had to be reorganised after six of the eight operating theatres were temporarily shut down last week.
A parent of a one-monthold baby, who was admitted at the hospital and scheduled for surgery on January 1, contacted this newspaper after he was informed there was no doctor to perform the operation.
He also said doctors informed him that six operating theatres were out of service because the airconditioning unit had failed.
The parent said his son had an inguinal hernia and doctors had recommended surgery.
He said all the necessary pre-op preparations were done on January 2, but doctors informed him that there was no surgeon available to conduct the surgery.
He said he was disappointed because his son had been without food or water for five hours on that day.
The parent said his son was rescheduled for surgery on January 6 and was brought to the hospital at 8.30am.
He said his son went without food or water for three and a half hours before doctors informed him that surgery could not be done because of an airconditioning issue in six of the operating theatres.
Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete confirmed there had been an issue, but he also said the operating theatres were back up and running.
“The operating theatres at CWM Hospital last week had an issue with the airconditioning system,” he said.
“The airconditioning system feeds all the operating theatres.
“About four to six theatres were down, they are managed by an outside group called Tradeair and they managed to repair it three days later.
“In relation to the onemonth-old baby, I have spoken to the parents.
“The most important thing to remember is that babies are not easy to operate on.
“You can’t just pick any doctor and operate on them, we’ve got pediatric surgeons and pediatric anaesthetists, they were able to ensure the baby did not have any life-threatening problems.”
Dr Waqainabete said the baby was now well and the parent had contacted him and thanked him for his assistance.
“It is important for people to understand that in the CWM Hospital there are eight operating theatres and there is one dedicated to children.
“There is one dedicated to fractured bones – the orthopedic theatre, there is one dedicated to neurosurgery, one dedicated to plastic and reconstructive, one dedicated to general surgery, one dedicated to sepsis and one dedicated to obstetrics and gynaecology.
“The reason we needed to use the pediatric theatre is because it had all the equipment needed for a baby.”