DHB considers prefab options while Hutt Hospital block gets strengthened

Prefabricated wooden buildings are being considered as a temporary replacement for the quake prone Hutt Hospital.

An updated seismic assessment of the Heretaunga Block last week revealed it is only the concrete cladding that is quake-prone, but its seismic rating is still 15 percent of new building standard.

As an immediate measure to protect the public from chunks of falling concrete in an earthquake, the DHB has put fencing around the seven-storey building.

Capital and Coast and Hutt Valley head of provider services Joy Farley told board members today that was not a permanent fix - and there was no capacity to shift services elsewhere.

The building provides a quarter of the region's adult beds, and all the Hutt's medical and surgical inpatient beds, children and maternity, as well as radiology and lab services.

"The reason why we have to look at creating capacity in the medium term is that firstly if we are looking at a new master site plan to bring forward development of Heretaunga then clearly that building has to be empty.

"Secondly, even if were able to remediate Heretaunga - and we're still doing the work around that - then clearly that building has to be vacant to do the remediation."

The proposal is to put a single-storey building on top of the existing emergency department, carpark and roadway, or construct a double-storey prefab over the carpark and roadway.

Last month, shocked board members were told the building had major structural problems and was rated at just 15 percent of the new building code.

However, after a peer review, and re-assessment by the same engineering firm, many ratings dramatically increased - for instance the stairs went from 15 percent to 60 percent.

For Hutt board members, this was not particularly reassuring.

Hutt City councillor Josh Briggs queried how such a low rating could "magically change almost overnight" with no intervention except some colleagues having a conversation about it.

"There's either some misguidance or misdirection or incompetence, or something wasn't thoroughly enough for such a drastic change that we were told wouldn't occur."

Board chair David Smol admitted he too was surprised by the change - but assured members it did not mean they were treating the matter with any less urgency.

"We're moving at full speed on the options and the plan."

Josh Briggs disagreed, pointing out that board papers and public statements clearly said vacating the building could now be done over a longer timeframe - and that worried him.

However, Joy Farley said moving patients and services prematurely would actually put them at higher risk.

"We have an emergency decanting plan, which is not sustainable and what that clearly demonstrates is there is no palatable decanting plan without creating additional capacity.

"And the risk to patients and our community of acting on the emergency plan as a long-term option is much higher than moving to look at different capacity," Farley said.

Consulting firm Destravis will cost out the plans for the prefabs next month, with construction set to take six to 12 months.

Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry welcomed the plan, saying any decision that ensured services would stay in the Hutt Valley in the short to medium term was a good one.

"The devil will be in the detail. I think all of us would expect that this isn't a long-term solution to healthcare services in the Hutt, it is simply to enable those services to continue and get out of the Heretaunga block over time."

Long-term, the community needed a clear plan, budget and timeline for a permanent building on the site, he said.

The final decision on what happens next at Hutt Hospital rests with Health New Zealand, which will take over from district health boards next week.

Meanwhile, the Health Minister Andrew Little, as well as Labour MPs Chris Hipkins, Ginny Andersen and Meka Whaitiri, will host a public meeting about the hospital tomorrow.