Hospital quake risk woes

WELLINGTON: Wellington’s health services face uncertainty as Hutt Hospital management works out when the main hospital block will be closed.

Hutt Valley District Health Board told staff on Tuesday the Heretaunga block, which contains the maternity, childrens’, cardiology, burns, general and orthopaedics wards, was earthquakeprone and patients would have to be moved out while it was fixed.

The block has 210 bed spaces and accounts for 25% of the physical capacity of the Hutt, Kenepuru and Wellington hospitals.

The HVDHB says the risk is low for patients and staff and it is planning where multiple services could go. There may also be temporary buildings erected.

The 40yearold Heretaunga block has an earthquake rating somewhere below 34% of the new building standard.

Nic Brooke, an engineer and concrete expert at Compusoft Engineering, said while that sort of rating was not highrisk daytoday, 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 earthquakeprone 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,’’ Mr Brooke said. — RNZ