Analyses held up

RESULTS of Marina Baja medical tests were delayed after a laboratory’s false ceiling collapsed at Villajoyosa hospital.

Instruments were damaged and the Biochemistry laboratory filled with debris, putting it out of action for several days, the hospital announced.  No one was injured as the ceiling caved in at around 2am when it was closed.

The laboratory deals with analyses from the hospital itself as well as all Marina Baja health centres and most tests were suspended until the ceiling was repaired.  

The laboratory that serves the hospital’s A & E department was not affected and dealt with urgent analyses as the hospital management preferred not to saturate neighbouring hospitals by sending them the Marina Baja samples.

An air-conditioning unit was put in place during the summer and it is possible that the ceiling was affected by the extra weight, sources said.

Hospital employees also revealed that the same ceiling collapsed two years ago after fibre optic wiring was installed above the plasterwork.  “We don’t understand how this could happen again when there is a staff engineer who must be aware of the risks,” a staff member told the provincial Spanish press.