A year after it was due to open, stage two of Dunedin Hospital’s intensive care unit upgrade may be a step closer to receiving patients.
The wards sits unused due to problems with its ventilation system, although it could be opened in an emergency if Covid-19 patients swamped the hospital.
The Southern District Health Board, which has been highly frustrated at a delay, commissioned independent engineers to assess the problem.
They had proposed new designs for the ICU air handling systems, SDHB specialist services executive director Patrick Ng said.
"These are currently being peer-reviewed by independent mechanical engineers.
"Once we have confirmation that the designs will work, these will be priced and we will commence approval and implementation planning."
The modern ICU needs the air in its new isolation rooms to be changed 14 times an hour, something the ventilation systems in the old hospital building cannot cope with.
A similar problem befell Stage 1 of the project but engineers were able to get that 12-bed ward open, some months after it was planned.
Stage 2, with 10 extra beds, has proved more difficult, as 17 different ventilation systems had to be reviewed.
