SIR CHARLES GAIRDNER
HOSPITAL — WATER CONTAMINATION
1042. Hon STEVE MARTIN to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I refer to recent concerns raised by
the Australian Medical Association Western Australia that ageing infrastructure
at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is leading to water contamination.
(1) Have there been any cases of suspected bacterial
contamination in the water at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital?
(2) If yes to (1), what was the
bacterium?
(3) If no
bacterial contamination has been identified, why are some sinks and taps in
some wards labelled out of service, with patients being told not to use them?
(4) What measures are being
undertaken to address this issue?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer is provided on behalf of the
Minister for Health.
(1) Yes.
(2) As part of the regular water testing regime,
legionella and mixed flora, which are bacteria in the environment that
do not cause disease, have been found in a small number of water outlets.
(3) When contamination is detected as part of the
sampling program, a bacterial filter is placed on the outlet to await treatment. If the outlet cannot have a filter
placed, in accordance with site-specific incident responses, it is taken
out of service until treatment is completed.
(4) North Metropolitan Health Service facilities management
undertakes pasteurisation and fixture replacement as required.
Point-of-use filters can be temporarily installed to remove any contamination
until such time as testing results are known. The North Metropolitan Health
Service adopts a systematic testing regime, in
line with Australasian best practice. The verification process includes
laboratory testing of water samples to check for the presence of
bacteria and chlorine levels.
As part of the water management plan,
the NMHS undertakes regular maintenance of showers and tap outlets within
clinical areas. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital follows the NMHS water safety
plan, which includes preventive maintenance, regular water fixture replacement
and microbiological monitoring. As part of this plan, the response to a detection
of bacteria is to initiate the water quality incident response protocol.
Bacterial contamination of water is not uncommon in large buildings with
extensive piping.