Source: Radio New Zealand
PSA National secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Public Service Association says a faulty fire alarm system at a Dunedin hospital is an unacceptable risk to staff and patients.
The union says the alarm system at Helensburgh House, which caters to people with intellectual disabilities and mental illness, was damaged about a month ago and is still not working properly.
National secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, said there was currently no early warning fire system or evacuation system in place at Helensburgh House.
“This is an adult inpatient unit and what we are seeing in response is increased security, more smoke alarms and air horns being used,” said Fitzsimons.
“These are all temporary measure but it should never have come to this. We need to see Te Whatu Ora act urgently to make sure there is a fire alarms system at Helensburgh House that is working.”
“This poses a serious risk to patient and staff safety. Fire alarms are criticial and we know the results can be tragic, that’s why Te Whatu Ora needs to act urgently.”
Health New Zealand said it would replace the system as soon as it can.
Health New Zealand Te Waipounamu Regional Director of Infrastructure Rob Ojala said Health New Zealand identified an issue with the smoke detection and evacuation panel notification systems at Helensburgh House on March 30.
“We immediately put in place an interim fire and emergency response plan and updated evacuation plan to ensure the safety of our staff and patients.” said Rob Ojala.
He said that appropriate signage had been erected to inform anyone visiting the site after-hours, and signage was also posted on fire alarm call buttons to notify of the need to manually call 111 in an emergency.
“We are working urgently to replace the systems as quickly as possible and have commissioned a contractor to undertake this work.” said Ojala.
“This will include upgrading call points, smoke detectors, annunciators, and remote-control units throughout the building, as well as the main fire panel.”
Rob Ojala said that as part of Building Warrant of Fitness compliance requirements, external assessors regularly assess alarm systems, and the Helensburgh House system was on the list for replacement, but had passed monthly testing prior to the recent events.
“Prior to this incident, we were already progressing urgent scoping work to replace the fire panel and associated components, as routine testing had identified that we could not be fully confident in the reliability of the system. This incident confirmed those concerns were well-founded and reinforced the need to continue working closely with staff and fire safety specialists on appropriate interim measures while the replacement programme is completed.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
