Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Staff at Auckland Hospital have been told there will be a full shutdown of the water system in the main building tonight.
The water will be shut off in building 32 from 6pm while a leak in ward 38 is fixed.
It is expected to be off for up to 10 hours.
In a message to staff, seen by RNZ, the hospital warned there would be no tap water until the problem is fixed.
Bottled water and hot water was being delivered.
The toilets were still working but patients who could not use them were being given disposable bed pans and bottles.
The building housed operating theatres and maternity delivery suites and staff were told temporary portable sinks would be delivered to some operating theatres.
Te Whatu Ora said it wanted to reassure patients and whānau at the hospital that they would continue to receive high-quality clinical care.
Group director of operations Mike Shepherd said the water shut-down was expected to last at least six hours.
"We have robust mitigations in place to ensure that the delivery of clinical care continues, and our patients and staff remain safe and comfortable," Shepherd said.
The union representing senior doctors said fixing the burst pipe is going to be a big job.
Executive director at the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, Sarah Dalton told RNZ the pipe burst some time Tuesday night.
"It's going to be, I understand, quite a big job to fix," she said.
"They're unable to complete repairs today, and so they're going to have to put a bunch of mitigations in place to try to ensure that staff can continue to work appropriately and safely, and that patients are safe."
Te Whatu ora said work was underway to repair the leak.
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