Ashburton Hospital has been forced to cancel 13 surgical operations after structural engineers found its theatre block was at risk of collapsing in an earthquake.
Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) closed the block this morning, after inspections last week found parts of the block, built from unreinforced masonry, were earthquake-prone and had a very high seismic risk.
All of the hospital's buildings had been inspected for visible signs of damage after each significant quake in Christchurch, but the extent of the unreinforced masonry was only revealed in a detailed inspection last week.
CDHB chief executive David Meates apologised to the 13 patients affected by the cancellations at short notice.
Some of the patients were sent to Christchurch Hospital, while others will have to wait until future appointments are available.
"I realise how inconvenient this closure is. However, we cannot continue to operate in this theatre given that we are still experiencing quakes and we know parts of the building are earthquake-prone," says Mr Meates.
Ashburton Hospital was working to contact patients booked for future operations.
"We will be making decisions over the next day or so about where Ashburton patients will have their surgery in the short-term," Mr Meates said.
CDHB is still waiting for engineering assessments of other buildings at the hospital, which are due in the next few weeks.
Mr Meates says because of their age, it is likely some other buildings, including wards, will be found to be earthquake-prone.
Since the September 2010 quake, more than 7500 CDHB hospital rooms have been damaged.
The repairs were originally estimated to cost about $70 million, but the cost of repairs and strengthening is now expected to be much higher as further inspections are carried out.
NZN