On Wednesday 21 August, Minister of Heath Dr Shane Reti opened the refurbished x-ray facility at Wellington Regional Hospital. This was another in a long line of McKenzie Higham projects at the Wellington campus. John MacDonald and Mike Cronin from our specialist Health Facilities team were there to celebrate this successful first phase of delivery for this small but intricate Health Design project. Other project team members represented on the day included Philips (the equipment supplier), Choice Construction and the Capital Coast and Hutt Valley - Capital Projects team.
The new x-ray facility uses digital technology to operate much faster, more flexibly and with higher quality imaging than the hospital's previous equipment. MHA worked with the Health New Zealand Project Manager and Capital Projects team to adapt the existing x-ray room to maximise the effectiveness of this new imaging asset. This involved liaising with the equipment supplier on installation requirements across three sites, working with a structural engineer on modifications to the existing structure to support the new equipment and integrating the requirements of the medical physicist (Photon Physics) for radiation shielding adjustments.
This project demonstrates our Health Facilities team’s particular strengths in the adaptation of complex existing health buildings, working in and around live hospital environments, and collaborative deployment of our specialist design experience.
