EARTHQUAKE UPDATE 14 JUNE 2011 - CANTERBURY DISTRICT HEALTH BOARD

Important public health information

Boil or treat all water from taps and tankers before drinking, brushing teeth or using in food preparation.

• Bringing water to the boil is sufficient to kill bugs. Water needs to be boiled even if the smell or taste of chlorine is present. If you cannot boil water, treat it by adding 1 teaspoon of household bleach per 10 litres of water and leave for 30 minutes.

• The City Council and Public Health are working together to test water supplies in Christchurch and will update this advice as soon as we have a clear idea of how the water supply has been impacted by the aftershocks.

• Employers should also make sure their staff are only consuming boiled or bottled water at work. This applies even for workplaces with self-supplied water, until testing can be completed and the supply can be cleared of risk.

Ensure you and your family keep warm – particularly if there are elderly, chronically ill or young people in your household.

• If you do not have electricity at this stage, make plans to stay warm tonight by using heating units that do not rely on electricity (such as flue gas heaters) or arrange to stay with friends or family with power.

• Do not stay in your home if it is not weather tight.

• Make sure your family dress warmly even when inside.

Take steps to avoid sewage contamination from broken pipes.

• People should avoid sewage even if it is on their properties. They should also avoid contact with silt and waterways that may have been contaminated with sewage.

• Wash your hands or use hand sanitiser often, particularly after toileting, and before and after eating or preparing food.

If you feel ill seek assistance or advice.

• Most General Practice and pharmacies in the city are open. If you need medical assistance contact your usual General Practice in the first instance. If you telephone your usual General Practice team day or night a registered nurse will answer and provide health advice about where to go for treatment if required.

• If it’s an emergency dial 111.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help, especially from your family or neighbours.

• Keep an eye out for each other, especially if there are vulnerable people (e.g. the elderly or someone unwell) in your neighbourhood.

If you have no power, use perishable food in your fridge first. Keep your freezer closed as long as possible to help keep food frozen for a while.

Hospital services
Non-deferrable elective surgery has been postponed for today and will resume tomorrow.

Specialist Mental Health Service outpatient appointments are continuing as usual.

Oncology outpatients (chemotherapy and radiation therapy) are continuing as usual.

All other outpatients’ appointments will resume from tomorrow.

Planned and emergency caesarean sections at Christchurch Women’s Hospital are going ahead.

Primary birthing units are operating as usual.

Canterbury DHB Buildings are still being inspected but no serious structural issues have been identified.

Riverside block at Christchurch Hospital – the fourth and fifth floors of Riverside building have been closed because of problems with the emergency fire alarm warning systems.

Burwood and Hillmorton Hospitals are on the town water supply, so need to boil water until further notice. Testing on the bore water at TPMH and Christchurch Hospital will take two to three days, so in the meantime boil water for drinking. Bottled water will be made available at all Christchurch CDHB sites.

The Emergency Department at Christchurch Hospital is open. The department saw up to 60 injured patients in the five hours following the 1pm quake but we are not able to completely determine if all are quake relate. About 16 of those patients were admitted but none were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Four had moderate to serious injuries. Two remain in hospital in a stable condition. The department also had 12 people present with chest pains in the first 5 hours and nine of those were admitted. The department is still getting a trickle of injuries today, and a lot of fragile old folk.

Vulnerable People
The Canterbury District Health Board has been notified of one death at an aged care facility following the quake. Further details are not available at this stage.

Other aged care residents evacuated after the February 22 earthquake that were to be repatriated to Christchurch this week are being asked if they still wish to return to the city following this latest quake.

Three disability providers in Christchurch have been evacuated. Some residents from those evacuated facilities are being relocated to other facilities in Christchurch or are staying with family.

All media queries are to be directed to the Canterbury District Health Board communications team. Please contact Amy Milne, Media Liaison, 027 502 7523 in the first instance. Otherwise please contact Karalyn van Deursen, Strategic Communications Manager, 027 531 4796.