“When we upgraded our lighting system for the new Hutt Hospital Theatres last year, I asked what was happening to the old lights. It was fantastic to have access to the latest technology, but the old lights still had good life in them somewhere, surely.” He found that no plans had been made for them, so he sent an email to a contact in Samoa to see whether they would be interested in them.
“Coincidently my contact was due to visit Hutt Hospital with a delegation from the Samoan Ministry of Health in the coming weeks and it was great to be able to show them the equipment in person,” he said.
The delegation toured Hutt Hospital and the newly refurbished Emergency Department, immediately expressing their interest in the equipment which included unused hip joints and sterilising equipment.
The old surgical theatre lights will now get a new lease on life in August this year when they will be transported and refitted in a Hospital in Apia Samoa.
The lights were dismantled and packaged free of charge by Fletcher Construction, ready to be transported courtesy of the New Zealand Defence Force Charitable Freight Programme.
The redevelopment of the ED and Theatres will near completion this year, significantly improving Hutt Hospital’s ability to provide services to a greater number of patients.
Theatre/ED Building Project Coordinator, Gillian Anderson says that some considerations for purchasing new lights for the new facility included LED technology which was more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
“The old lights were about 14 years old and since then better technology has become available in the market,” said Ms Anderson. “Energy efficiency was an important factor for the new building and the new lights provide better light using less energy. They also give off less heat, are more ergonomic – less bulky and easier to move,” she said.
A New Zealand Defence Force Spokesperson said that the lights are likely to be transported and installed when Exercise Tropic Twilight gets underway in August this year.
Each year under Exercise Tropic Twilight, New Zealand Defence Force personnel are deployed to a Pacific Nation to undertake a range of medical and engineering civil aid tasks.
