Hawke's Bay Hospital has no air conditioning in its wards. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hawke's Bay Hospital has no air conditioning in its wards. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hawke's Bay Hospital patients each have a fan, and exterior windows have been tinted to keep patients cool through summer.
New "breathable" uniforms will also help Hawke's Bay Hospital nurses stay cool through a week in which 34C is forecast.
A week of scorching temperatures with light winds has arrived,and is set to test the innovations Hawke's Bay District Health Board has brought in to provide relief in its non-air conditioned wards.
Wednesday is now likely to reach 34C in both Napier and Hastings, according to a MetService meteorologist, and Thursday could be almost as hot again.
Hawke's Bay District Health Board executive director of financial services Carriann Hall said air conditioning is on the DHB's infrastructure building plan, but no date has been set.
"The DHB acknowledges the wards get very hot in the summer, which is unpleasant for both patients and staff," she said.
"However, the age of the building makes installing air conditioning difficult and expensive. Prior estimates of the cost to install air conditioning in the ward block were $7 million."
Ward temperatures pushed 30C for more than a week in February 2020, sparking calls from unions and even patients that conditions at the hospital were unsafe.
Hawke's Bay DHB documents released to Radio NZ under the Official Information Act showed it spent roughly $12,000 in the 12 months to February 2020 on fans and ice blocks.
Shade on a hot summer's day at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor
Hall said the DHB has recently installed window tinting on all of the north facing windows of the ward block to help reduce temperatures in the building in summer.
"Fans are also available for every patient area to help with air flow and nurses now also have available new uniforms made of lightweight breathable fabric," she said.
MetService meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree said although the week's high temperatures can't be officially classed as a heatwave it's definitely going to be very hot.
"Wednesday and Thursday is when the temperatures will be the hottest days with highs of 34 for Hastings on Wednesday and 33C on Thursday," she said.
Napier will reach 34C on Wednesday and 32C on Thursday, Waipukurau and Wairoa will experience similar temperatures.
After a hot week, meteorologist Crabtree added temperatures will cool by the weekend.
"There will be a noticeable drop in temperature." She said. "There'll be a cold change come through and might be some showers but nothing substantial."
