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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 1042 asked in the Legislative Council on 30 November 2021 by Hon Steve Martin

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

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.