Royal Darwin Hospital repairs begin after Cyclone Fina damage
Royal Darwin Hospital has started repairs after dozens of bricks collapsed from its facade during Cyclone Fina, with engineers installing a protective roof to prevent further damage.
Work to repair the Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) has commenced after a section of the facade collapsed during Cyclone Fina, as part of the hospital remains closed and a special steel roof is installed to absorb damage if more bricks fall.
Dozens of bricks fell from the outer wall during the storm, smashing a hole in a lower roof and collapsing part of the ceiling above a busy corridor inside the hospital.
Ongoing drone footage and engineering assessment has not identified any additional areas of concern, and the Department of Logistics and Infrastructure has started repair works.
A spokeswoman for NT Health said engineers and contractors had been on site to closely monitor the building, support staff and ensure patient safety.
“Current works are focused on reducing risk and a steel roof, known as an energy absorption deck, is being installed over the first floor to mitigate any potential future damage,” she said.
“Areas within the impacted zone of RDH have been temporarily relocated or closed while these important works are completed. Longer-term engineering solutions for the facade of the building are also being assessed.”
NT Health said it would continue to work with the Logistics and Infrastructure Department on repairs.
It said the impact to operations from the incident was “minimal”, with all elective surgery having recommenced on December 1, nine days after the cyclone hit Darwin.
The damage to the 50-year-old building has sparked calls for governments to start planning for a new hospital for Darwin.
Managing health infrastructure is the responsibility of state governments, but NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has blamed the damage on chronic underfunding from her federal counterparts.
Mrs Finocchiaro has called on the Commonwealth to stump up more health funding, pointing to the fact the NT sits seven per cent below the national average under the national health reform agreement.
Meanwhile one Charles Darwin University engineering academic was most likely caused by a construction failure.
Senior Engineering Lecturer Dr Ali Rajabipour told the NT News shortly after the collapse that the damage should not have occurred and it seemed “somewhere, somebody has not followed the correct rules of practice”.
Dr Rajabipour said government should inspect all major public buildings, including hospitals, to determine their integrity.
