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Speaker 1: Believe that I've got the general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital,

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Speaker 1: doctor Sirah Watson. I believe he's on the line. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you, doctor Watson.

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Speaker 2: Hi Katie, how are you.

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Speaker 1: I'm going all right? How are you guys here at

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Speaker 1: the hospital?

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Speaker 2: Yes, we are going really well. We're extremely busy, is

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Speaker 2: as you might expect, but going very very well.

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Speaker 1: Now tell me what how did you go with that

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Speaker 1: damage on the weekend? Was it a large section of

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Speaker 1: the wall?

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Speaker 2: What was the go? Yeah, so that's thought that is

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Speaker 2: so this is obviously the exterior bricks on the top

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Speaker 2: of the tower there that is still being assessed. So

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Speaker 2: whilst obviously is everyone who has driven to the site

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Speaker 2: goes gosh, it's quite big, that's actually still being assessed.

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Speaker 2: So obviously when we have those precise details, we will

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Speaker 2: obviously send those through those viotue. But what we do

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Speaker 2: know happened is, of course the bricks that were in

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Speaker 2: that area fell onto the roof of the first floor

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Speaker 2: sort of ICU theater wing of the hospital. Well, and

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Speaker 2: that's why they then came through the ceiling and the walls.

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Speaker 1: So Sarah, tell me, like what kind of damage then

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Speaker 1: was caused? Because I know we've had someone get in

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Speaker 1: contact saying, you know, the roof didn't just collapse, but

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Speaker 1: a large section of that wall from about six stories

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Speaker 1: up fell and dropped through the roof. It sounds pretty concerning.

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Speaker 2: Well, as I said, so the whole extent of that

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Speaker 2: damage and what happened is being assessed. But yes, so

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Speaker 2: the section of the extreme brick walls fell onto the

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Speaker 2: first law roof and through the walls. So what we

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Speaker 2: did do The staff responded absolutely amazingly. You've all seen

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Speaker 2: that photo of the Director of Clinical Infrastructure having a

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Speaker 2: look at it and phoning it and everyone has seen

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Speaker 2: has seen that. So the whole team did an amazing response.

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Speaker 2: So there is a ward behind that was the bricks

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Speaker 2: fell in in an area of the corridor, as I'm

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Speaker 2: sure you've all seen in that photo. There is a

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Speaker 2: ward behind that some meters the way. It's about one

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Speaker 2: hundred and fifty so meters away. But nevertheless, so they

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Speaker 2: did an amazing job. They if they pulled the staff

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Speaker 2: together and the staff or their colleagues and the patients

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Speaker 2: together very quickly, and there's all those staff and patients

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Speaker 2: were evacuated down to the auditorium very quickly, so no

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Speaker 2: one was injured. It all happened in a very calm

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Speaker 2: process and the staff did an amazing job. What that

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Speaker 2: does mean, of course, we asked, as you have said,

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Speaker 2: it just looks pretty extensive. That war remains closed, as

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Speaker 2: does that corridor. As you might expect, that ward and

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Speaker 2: corridor remained closed, and we're assessing. Obviously it's not me,

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Speaker 2: but the engineers and the departments were setting how we

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Speaker 2: can make it all safe as soon as soon as possible.

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Speaker 2: But that work obviously is underway. So for the time being,

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Speaker 2: that corridor which everyone have seen, and the ward behind it,

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Speaker 2: which is a short stay unit, we have sixteen beds

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Speaker 2: that is closed all.

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Speaker 1: What's that meaning in terms of the further on flow.

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Speaker 1: I suppose of the hospital because we know you guys

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Speaker 1: are so incredibly busy at the best of times.

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Speaker 2: So what we've had to do. We've postponed some elective surgery.

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Speaker 2: We have put an additional list at Palmerston. But because

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Speaker 2: we obviously have had these issues and we're assessing the ward,

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Speaker 2: and obviously, as we've said, we've had to close that ward,

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Speaker 2: we have unfortunately had to had to postpone some elective surgery,

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Speaker 2: so as soon as we can we'll obviously get that

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Speaker 2: up and running. But yes, that has been that has

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Speaker 2: been an effect.

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Speaker 1: How long do you anticipate that you know that those

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Speaker 1: sixteen bids may now be out of action. I know

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Speaker 1: it's early to say, and you said that it's being assisted,

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Speaker 1: but I guess how long are you planning for at

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Speaker 1: the moment.

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Speaker 2: Well, we'll plan until we have autout confirmation that the

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Speaker 2: ward is safe and adjoining corridors are safe. So as

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Speaker 2: I've said to we have been able to transfer Lispe

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Speaker 2: quickly to Palmerston. There is capacity there, so I think

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Speaker 2: we'll obviously look to maximize Palmestans as long as as

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Speaker 2: long as it takes. Basically, we're also assessing our other

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Speaker 2: theaters because just to make sure which I think we

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Speaker 2: really was done yesterday, to make sure they're safe, the

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Speaker 2: stores are safe for all, the equipment is safe. We're

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Speaker 2: pretty sure about that. So those are whilst they were

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Speaker 2: obviously affected at the time, that they have all now

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Speaker 2: been assessed by our engineers and they're absolutely safe. So

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Speaker 2: we're still just you know, looking at the entire surgery

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Speaker 2: called suite, but it does seem to be that the

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Speaker 2: short stay unit seems to be the most effective or

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Speaker 2: is the most effected, and that has unfortunate, as I said,

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Speaker 2: called them postponement of elected surgery.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt, you know, no doubt still concerning given

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Speaker 1: the fact that it happened during that category three and

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Speaker 1: I suppose we're all sort of going, geeez, what have

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Speaker 1: happened if it was stronger?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So, as I said, I'm not I know that

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Speaker 2: the anti health and the engineers are really looking that

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Speaker 2: in great in great detail.

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Speaker 1: Now, doctor Watson, tell us, how are things going more

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Speaker 1: broadly at the hospital at the moment, as you've touched

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Speaker 1: on there. Obviously not having those sixteen bids operational does

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Speaker 1: make things a little bit more difficult, some of the

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Speaker 1: elective surgeries being postponed. Anything else that our listeners should

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Speaker 1: be aware of in terms of you know that service delivery, no.

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Speaker 2: So oh yes, And I'll just go go through all

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Speaker 2: those so we for the period of time, some period

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Speaker 2: of time. Yesterday we closed the front foil of the

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Speaker 2: hop of the hospital, I think, just so we could

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Speaker 2: assess the safety underneath where that where that infrastructure damage was.

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Speaker 2: We have now reopened the front foire of the hospital.

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Speaker 2: There is some scaffolding around the bat near the security office,

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Speaker 2: but that is just to keep you know, So we're

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Speaker 2: confident that area is safe for the hospital is now

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Speaker 2: safe and we have also opened all our outpatients, so

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Speaker 2: our patients is going quite as normal.

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Speaker 1: All right, Well, doctor Sarah Watson, we better let you go.

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Speaker 1: I know you're a busy woman. There's certainly a lot

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Speaker 1: happening in here as well. And yeah, we've got a

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Speaker 1: heck of a lot happening post cyclone. Is how are

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Speaker 1: all the stuff and everybody there at the hospital today?

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Speaker 2: So I have to say, Katie, the staff did an

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Speaker 2: absolutely amazing job and they really kept the place going.

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Speaker 2: We've done a quick counterpt and we estimate that there

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Speaker 2: were seven hundred and thirty staff who were either working

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Speaker 2: direct with patients or were bunking down at the height

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Speaker 2: of the storm. Oh well, we're huge numbers of staffs

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Speaker 2: gave their time away from their families to help their

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Speaker 2: colleagues and patients. It's an amazing effort. So the staff

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Speaker 2: have done an absolutely amazing.

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Speaker 1: Job, absolute legends. And I tell you what, that's not

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Speaker 1: lost on me. All of those frontline workers in our hospital,

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Speaker 1: you know, our power and water out there on the roads,

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Speaker 1: our emergency services everybody. Some of them probably haven't even

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Speaker 1: had the opportunity to really go home and sort out

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Speaker 1: what could be a mess at their own place, you know,

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Speaker 1: in terms of trees down, et cetera, because they're out

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Speaker 1: there looking after others.

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Speaker 2: So we were very careful to make sure those fat

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Speaker 2: who had worked overnight would give it obviously when home yesterday.

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Speaker 2: But yes, I agree FASD an amazing effort.

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Speaker 1: Well, doctor Watson, thank you so much for having a

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Speaker 1: chat with us this morning. Really appreciate your time.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Everson much, Katie, thank you,