There is some relief as the essential lift in the East Wing of the CWM Hospital which is used to take patients to the operating theatres, the Intensive Care Unit and Acute Wards, has now been repaired while the Lancaster lift and the Children’s ward lift are expected to be operational before the end of the month.
The East Wing lift had broken down yesterday and now, fijivillage News can confirm the lift has been repaired and operational.
This lift is near the Radiography Department, and is the only lift that can take patients to the operating theatres, the Intensive Care Unit and the Acute Wards.
According to the doctors who have spoken to fijivillage News, this lift was previously used to transport waste from the operating theatres, while the main lift was used to transport patients.
Medical experts on the ground say the main lift in the East Wing has not worked for a long time.
CWM Hospital Medical Superintendent Doctor Luke Nasedra confirms the Lancaster lift and the Children’s ward lift are expected to be operational before the end of the month, once sensors are completed and OHS inspection and commissioning are done.
While providing an update on the situation in the West Wing, Dr Nasedra says the West Wing has 4 lifts, two outside Lancaster, one Children’s Ward lift and one food service lift.
However, he says for most of the last one to two years, only the West Wing lift, which is outside Lancaster, is operational.
He says OTIS technicians were on the ground towards the end of last year and have been working on decommissioning the old lifts and installing the new ones, with the the West Wing lift being the first one to be operational again.
The Medical Superintendent says the next step was to move on to the children’s ward lift and then return to the Lancaster lift.
He says work on these two lifts was carried out almost simultaneously, with the decommissioning of the old systems followed by the installation of the new lifts.
Dr Nasedra says the new lifts have been installed and final work is underway, including sensors and electronic components while door and flooring installations have already been completed.
He says once the sensor work is finished, Occupational Health and Safety will inspect and commission the lifts, which are expected to be operational before the end of the month.
Dr Nasedra says the fourth lift, which is the food service lift, is more complicated because its supporting structure is made of wood.
He says additional work is needed to strengthen the structure before installing the new lift.
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