Health NZ says the quake rating of a building which will house the new MRI in Hastings is good enough. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Anusha Bradley
New medical scanning machines at Hawke's Bay hospital are being put in buildings with earthquake ratings at least 27 percent lower than those set in new policy.
Health New Zealand's (HNZ) policy is to hit 67 percent of the New Building Standard (NBS) earthquake standard for such moves - but the radiology expansion, which will house the new MRI in Hastings, is only 40 percent.
HNZ says that was good enough.
"This is an appropriate design life to house imaging equipment with a service life lower than 25 years and with a wider redevelopment on the horizon."
HNZ's policy does not mention "design life".
But it does dilute things by saying strengthening to attain 67 percent "should" be the aim, "where practicable".
The existing radiology building at Hastings rates even lower, at 35 percent NBS.
This follows years of work and delays.
The new Health Minister Simeon Brown heralded the $30m radiology expansion and refurbishment at Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital in Hastings, just days after taking over the portfolio.
"The new MRI and additional CT scanner will increase capacity and reduce wait times," Brown said.
While the CT is new, the MRI was promised to be operational in 2023.
But the hospital ran into multiple problems for years trying to find a strong enough place for it, a situation made worse when a new national seismic hazard model raised the risks in Hawke's Bay.
"The MRI has not been installed yet and requires the expansion of the radiology department into the adjacent building as part of this project to house the new machine," HNZ told RNZ this week.
That expansion is taking from 2025-27. It is not clear when the MRI might be ready.
The hospital had realised strengthening buildings while they were in use was "highly challenging... and adds considerably to buildability challenges", engineers told managers in 2022.
The central HNZ seismic policy - adopted two years ago after a major review - puts a priority on fixing clinical buildings that rate under 34 percent NBS. Under 34 is "earthquake prone".
The existing radiology building at Hastings is just 35 percent of NBS, and there is no plan to upgrade it further - even though HNZ said work to improve buildings at Hastings was "ongoing".
Its new seismic policy is not to buy or lease new buildings below 67 percent NBS - this is considered "earthquake risk".
Government office workers have previously evacuated buildings in Wellington that are under 67 percent NBS, such as the large Bowen House on Lambton Quay.
HNZ Te Whatu Ora launched its new seismic policy two years ago after engineers told it to add the likes of radiology to the group of the most important buildings - IL4 (Importance Level 4) - that are assessed the most rigourously, as they have to be able to be restored to function quickly after a big shake. Previously it had allowed them to be rated a lesser IL3.
The radiology problems at Hawke's Bay have extended to the high-tech reporting systems that specialists rely on to diagnose scan results.
These got so bad they sparked an official inquiry two years ago that found long-running problems had caused patients harm.
About $700,000 had been spent since to improve them, the agency told RNZ.
"The system has been stabilised which means we are now able to minimise any downtime."
More work was being carried out to "further stabilise" them.
Patients could now view their images electronically, which they could not before, and a software upgrade was planned for 2025.
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