Christchurch hospital patient trapped in lift hours after $525m ER department opened

A patient on the move to Waipapa. Photo / Supplied

A hospital patient was trapped in a lift for 50 minutes - just hours after the $525 million building's ER department opened.

Christchurch's Waipapa building opened its doors this week - but an emergency department visit came to a halt for one patient.

Canterbury DHB's Dr Rob Ojala says a sensor issue halted the elevator trip as a patient was being transported between wards - trapping them and a staff member until it was fixed.

He says staff reassured the confined patient - and well-placed Waipapa staff rapidly responded to the hitch.

"We can confirm one of the lifts in Waipapa did malfunction for a short period of time this morning due to an issue with its sensor.

"This involved the lift stopping while a staff member was transporting a patient between wards via the lift. The other lifts in the facility were unaffected.

"The lift company was called and the malfunction lasted approximately 50 minutes.

"During this time staff worked to reassure those affected and they were subsequently able to continue on their journey through the new facility.

"The project team have worked very hard to ensure everything in Waipapa is ready for patient occupation, and where issues are encountered the team is well placed to respond rapidly.

"We are pleased the lift has been repaired and is now fully operational again."