25 May 2012

MEDIA RELEASE

Grey Hospital Closes Laundry And Boiler House

West Coast District Health Board chief executive, David Meates, said the DHB received a detailed engineer’s report yesterday which found the Laundry and Boiler House and Boiler House chimney at Grey Base Hospital to be earthquake-prone and high risk. This is largely due to construction containing unreinforced masonry, however, other critical structural weaknesses have been identified. The building and chimney don’t meet current seismic standards.

“As we’ve said before when closing other DHB facilities due to seismic risk, staff safety will always come first. Today we are closing the Grey Hospital laundry and in the short term, laundry will be done at a Christchurch laundry and trucked over regularly. We’re setting up a temporary Linen Distribution Centre on site at the hospital to ensure business as usual,” Mr Meates said.

He said many DHB buildings were being assessed for seismic compliance. “We are expecting further reports on Grey Hospital buildings and one on its electrical systems. The findings of these reports will help us make firm plans for facilities on the Grey Hospital site,” Mr Meates said.

“We are pricing options for repairing and strengthening the building, and at this stage we don’t know how long the interim arrangements will be in place.

It’s likely the chimney will be replaced with a temporary steel chimney and we will also get a portable boiler as a back- up to ensure steam on site.

“I realise this unexpected news will be unsettling for staff and would like to acknowledge and thank the laundry, transport and boiler staff for their cooperation and flexibility with their new working arrangements,” David Meates said.

ENDS

Frequently-asked questions

Why was this building inspected?

Following a desktop assessment it was indicated that further inspection was necessary. A desktop assessment involves engineers looking at plans and other information available about a building. This includes when it was built, construction methods, materials and performance of similar buildings in a quake. Based on the information and evidence in front of them they then estimate the likely performance of a building in a quake.

The further inspection is called a detailed engineering evaluation, or DEE. This involves a visual and ‘intrusive’ inspection of the buildings in order to provide a seismic evaluation, as to how the building could be expected to perform in a quake. A reinforcing bar scanner was used on the walls, and intrusive inspections (where sections of the wall are removed) revealed that the infill of the wall was not reinforced.

The Laundry and Boiler House building is considered earthquake-prone and high risk as it meets between 9 and 10 percent of the New Building Standard (NBS).

There are a number of critical structural weaknesses including the chimney and foundations, which has a risk of ‘overturning failure’ or collapse in a quake as the foundations and piles have been assessed as meeting 18% NBS.

When was this building inspected?
Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 March 2012

When did you receive the final engineer’s DEE report?
Thursday 24 May 2012

Why does the laundry have to be closed, while the Boiler House can remain open – with limited access?
There is higher risk in the laundry building, and the boiler house will only be accessed three times a day for short time periods.

Why do hospitals have boiler houses?
Boiler houses provide a means to produce steam which is the lifeblood of any hospital. It’s used for heating, cooking and sterilising. It’s essential infrastructure.

What’s the cost of repairs, strengthening or replacing the affected buildings?
At this stage we don’t know. We’re talking to builders, engineers, electricians at the moment to get a clearer picture of how much this might be.

ends

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