Power outages to affect Kaitaia Hospital

Visitors are asked to avoid coming to Kaitaia Hospital between 10am and 1pm this Friday (17 August) due to a power outage.

Part of the ongoing $12 million redevelopment of the hospital in Redan Road, the temporary outage will allow the power supply to the newly constructed area of the building to be connected to the established facility. New generators are also being installed.

 

During this time there will be no power supply to the hospital. A contingency plan has been developed to cover emergency situations, and essential medical equipment will run on battery supplies, but visitors are asked to assist by staying away.

 

Anyone requiring emergency medical treatment should contact their GP or call an ambulance in the normal way.

 

Phone callers to the hospital will experience short delays in connection, due to the effects of the outage.

 

There will be a second outage, as part of the same work, from 10am to 1pm on Friday, 31 August.

 

Neta Smith, Operations Manager at Kaitaia Hospital, said: “We apologise for the disruption but this work is essential and cannot be avoided. We are asking members of the public to bear with us and avoid coming to the hospital during these times, unless they require urgent medical treatment. Any emergencies will be dealt with in the normal way.”

 

The Kaitaia Hospital redevelopment is on schedule for completion by the end of the year.

 

 

-Ends-

 

 

For further information, please contact:

Clare Blackburn, Communications Manager

Northland District Health Board 

Phone (09) 430 4101 ext 3315