London Hospital Closes Operating Rooms after Asbestos Scare

One of London’s largest hospitals have closed more than a third of their operating rooms after an asbestos scare.   Guy’s Hospital in Southwark shut down four operating rooms when asbestos containing material was removed from a nearby room. The asbestos crisis was a result of managerial ignorance and failure to upkeep the required maintenance and repairs.

“This is going to have a massive impact on the hospital’s ability to provide services,” says a spokesman for NHS campaigner London Health Emergency.

There has been much controversy surrounding hospital maintenance and steps taken towards dangerous exposure to the toxic fibers.  Many people feel that this issue was ignored as evidenced by the documented backlog of maintenance that was never properly handled.

Spokesman for NHS also commented, “We can’t afford to lose this kind of hospital capacity, and the fact we are losing it because of managerial incompetence and failure to do routine is awful.”

This issue is strongly supported by a campaign launched by teachers to remove all asbestos in schools and colleges by the year 2012.  Carole Hagedorn is among the many teachers advocating for the campaign.  The 58-year-old London school teacher contracted mesothelioma after years of being exposed to asbestos in schools.

According to spokesman for Guy’s hospital, the four operating rooms were shut down as a result of a pipe burst that released asbestos fibers into the air. The pipe, which provided the main source of heat for the operating rooms, will not be worked on until the asbestos contamination has been cleaned up.

Source:  http://www.bloggernews.net/120643