Hutt Hospital's Heretaunga Block. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Hutt Hospital's Heretaunga Block. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Lower Hutt's mayor has slammed the local DHB for "poor and hasty" communication over an earthquake risk discovered at the city's hospital.
"The uncertainty created over the past month has caused serious anxiety in our community, and there is work to do to rebuild trust," Campbell Barry said.
His criticismfollows revelations the main building at Hutt Hospital is in better shape than first thought.
In May, Hutt Valley DHB announced the Heretaunga Block had a 15 per cent New Building Standard (NBS) rating making it earthquake-prone. Several structural and non-structural elements in the building were given this low rating.
At that time the DHB said patients and services would eventually have to be moved out of the building.
But a peer review of the draft detailed seismic assessment has since been completed, finding the precast concrete façade panels are now the only part of the building rated at 15 per cent NBS.
However, the DHB advised in an update today this did not change the overall status of the building under the law.
A building's rating is determined by its weakest part so even if the issue is localised, or just one element is below 34 per cent NBS, the site's overall score is affected and still considered earthquake-prone.
While other elements in the building were no longer rated at 15 per cent NBS, the DHB said they were still considered an earthquake risk.
"We are therefore recommending the board confirms our earlier decision to relocate services out of the building as soon as reasonably practicable."
Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry. Photo / Georgina Campbell
The DHB has indicated the timeframe for relocation may be longer, given the new information.
Barry said it was good news the condition of the hospital was better than originally communicated.
"However, that reinforces just how poor the initial communication on this issue was from the DHB executive. It was hasty, and lacked planning and foresight.
"And what still is not clear, and what I'm frankly confused about, is the DHB ploughing ahead with their original plans to vacate the building."
Barry said the DHB needed to be clear as to whether the building was a significant earthquake risk and needed to be vacated, or whether it could be mitigated as the latest information suggested.
The precast concrete façade panels are on the building's exterior. The DHB said it was awaiting further engineering advice on how it could further mitigate or remediate the risk.
A fence is already in place around the Heretaunga Block.
On Wednesday the Hutt Valley and Capital Coast District Health Boards will consider the final draft detailed seismic assessment.
Engineers involved in that decision acknowledged it was easy to be conservative but "really difficult" to be realistic.
Speaking about Freyberg Pool, Beca's building structures chief engineer Rob Jury said engineers tried to get scores and ratings of buildings as high as they could reasonable justify.
