The biggest impact is in mental health, as its records are generally not backed up with an electronic version. Chief medical officer Dr Nigel Millar said documents could be retrieved by staff in protective gear, and such requests were handled on a "case-by-case basis".
"It is important to remember that all clinical staff are trained to provide care to patients without immediate access to their patient information, as occurs for patients at their first presentation with us.
"However, it is appreciated that this may lead to additional questions being asked that would be otherwise avoidable, which may cause delays and possibly concern for some patients.
"We apologise for this inconvenience, and thank everyone affected for their understanding as we manage this situation," Dr Millar said in a written statement.
He said staff were looking forward to the Dunedin Hospital redevelopment, and in the meantime the situation would be managed.
It was not considered feasible to remove the asbestos.
The records, in the hospital’s basement, had been largely off-limits in "recent months due to positive results for asbestos". It is just one area of many affected by asbestos since the first major find in October 2015.
Most of the clinical records were "inactive", meaning they belonged to patients who had not been to hospital recently.
"Most important information is available on the online clinical record. This does not include mental health information, and a process is being established for adding key mental health information to this record.
"In some cases, information may be found via alternative sources.
"Where it is believed there is critical information in the paper record that is not available from other sources, designated staff in protective clothing are able to retrieve and scan the records in the area," Dr Millar said.
A man, who did not wish to be named, contacted the ODT to say his ACC claim had been rejected because of a lack of documentation. The documentation needed for his claim to proceed was in the asbestos-affected storage area, he said.
