A patient at Whangārei Hospital captured this video of the ceiling leaking close to expensive scanning equipment, during light rainfall on Good Friday.
Video / Denise Piper
A leaking hospital roof - which saw rainwater dislodge ceiling tiles and drip to the floor in the radiology department - shows the dire state of Whangārei Hospital.
A patient sent the Northern Advocate a video of the damage on Friday, after being horrified by the water leaking all over the floor and electrics so close to expensive MRI machines.
The patient, who asked not to be named, said hospital staff were having trouble steering patients in beds around the leak and the subsequent bucket on the floor.
This will includes a new radiology and emergency department (ED) - the areas impacted by the latest leak - plus theatres, ICU, coronary care unit, support services and a new child health centre.
The second stage, including a 158-bed ward tower and an acute assessment unit, is yet to be funded.
Replacing the leaking roof is not economical given the expected useful life of the building, so leaks are just addressed as they occur, said Alex Pimm, Te Whatu Ora - Te Tai Tokerau group director of operations.
“Weather tightness is one issue we carefully manage in Whangārei Hospital’s ageing buildings,” he said.
“Following a heavy rain event on Thursday, March 28, the roof leaked near our radiology and emergency departments, and our facilities team removed and replaced four damaged ceiling tiles.”
Northland Regional Council’s environmental data shows just 2.6mm of rain fell in central Whangārei on March 28.
Pimm said there was there was no service disruption during the event nor impact to patient care.
Dr Gary Payinda, a Whangārei Hospital emergency doctor, says the cost of not replacing infrastructure will continue to go up, both in terms of dollars and in patient harm. Photo / Michael Cunningham
But ED doctor Dr Gary Payinda said the leaks - which can lead to a cascade of water during heavy rain - do impact both staff and patients.
“It’s never a great thing to know that your infrastructure is not something that you can take pride in nor that patients can take pride in,” he said.
“It says something about the state of infrastructure in this country when we have leaking roofs in various departments in Whangārei [Hospital]. It underscores the how important it is that we replace this essential infrastructure that ceased being adequate and up to the task decades ago.”
Payinda said while there are numerous leaks around Whangārei Hospital, the leak in the radiology department is as problematic as it sounds.
“Radiology is a significant area which is important because we have a lot of very expensive equipment that we have to protect.
“Rainwater drips and buckets and multi-million dollar electrics do not go well together.”
Payinda said the only solution is a bipartisan, long-term approach to essential infrastructure replacement, saying “decrepit hospitals need to transcend politics”.
“The cost, both in terms of patient harm and dollars and cents, is going to be greater in the future, the longer we put this off.”
Health Minister and Whangārei MP Shane Reti said he has been in support of Whangārei Hospital’s redevelopment “since day one”.
Funding for Whangārei Hospital’s redevelopment was one of the things Reti was warned about during a briefing when he started as Health Minister.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
