Hot air upsets Tauranga Hospital doctors

Surgeons are demanding that unsafe air conditioning in Tauranga Hospital's orthopaedic theatre be replaced immediately after delays with dozens of operations.

Thirty six patients have had their surgery postponed this year because a 30-year-old air-conditioning unit is failing to keep the orthopaedic theatre cool and dry enough.

A hospital source said the air conditioning regularly failed to keep humidity inside the theatre below internationally accepted levels.

Humidity levels in the operating theatre had crept past the recommended 60 per cent maximum. The higher the humidity, the higher the risk of infection.

Last year, 10 people who had joint operations between early June and early July developed infections, pushing the infection rate up to five times the nationally accepted level.