Significant water leakage in Dunedin Hospital's operating theatre suite during last Friday's heavy rain has prompted the Southern District Health Board to initiate ''urgent'' action to fix the problem.
In a statement last night, chief executive Carole Heatly thanked staff for keeping the theatres running during the inclement weather.
''A significant amount of water was forced into the theatre area and staff went above and beyond to keep the theatre suite open.
''We have been managing issues with leaks to our theatre suite for some time. It is now clear that the theatres need urgent work beyond the current maintenance approach.
''I will be looking at how we can get this done to ensure that the theatres remain operational in all weather conditions,'' Ms Heatly said.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times on Friday afternoon, a hospital duty co-ordinator said the public holiday meant no elective operations were scheduled.
''But [acute operating] theatres are going ahead,'' he said.
''There's a bit of water coming in through some of the windows. People are managing as best they can.
The Otago Daily Times understands some surgical equipment was damaged by water leaks and operation schedules were affected, but the duty manager declined to comment in detail.
He said maintenance staff were trying to fix the problem. Patients were not harmed, he said.
