Lights, equipment, action at our new hospital building

Westmead’s Central Acute Services Building (CASB) moved into the spotlight again this week when it achieved its latest milestone – the blackstart.

The main power supply to the building was shut off to test the generators and ensure all services function as intended.

Westmead Redevelopment’s Service Commissioning Lead Matt Tadorian said the testing marked an important step in the commissioning process.

“We need to make sure the building can maintain all critical functions in the event of a disaster,” he said.

“This could be a power outage, fire, flood or a storm. We have contingency plans in place to ensure a consistent flow in power at all times.

“During a blackstart, we test everything from power, air-conditioning, medical gases, lighting, sprinkler systems, to ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) networks, computers and security access.” 

Health Infrastructure’s Project Director Anna Chernih led the charge in for testing the major medical equipment.

“We simulated a power outage and tested CT and MRI scanning in the new adult’s and children’s Emergency Departments,” she said.

“We were able to continue scanning patients without any delays.

“It’s vital these critical elements are tested to ensure patient safety when the building opens.

“If a CT scanner loses power it can take over 30 minutes to reboot and our critical patients can’t wait that long.”

The Central Acute Services Building is a partnership between the Western Sydney Local Health District, the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network and the University of Sydney.

This week the NSW Premier announced that major construction on the project completed three months ahead of schedule. Read more about the announcement here.