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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 16 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 15 February 2022 by Ms L. Mettam

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

SIR CHARLES GAIRDNER HOSPITAL — LEGIONELLA

16. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:

I refer to the deaths of at least two people with legionella at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital since April 2020.

(1) How many patients at the hospital have received treatment for suspected or confirmed contamination of legionella since April 2020?

(2) Why did the government deny an attempt to cover up the deaths when questioned in this place last November?

Ms A. SANDERSON replied:

(1) If the member wants specific data and numbers that go back a number of months, she knows full well that she needs to put the question on notice. I am happy to answer that part of the question if she puts it on notice—that is completely reasonable.

(2) I completely reject the premise of the question, which is that somehow there was a cover-up. That is completely wrong. Again, opposition members, particularly the member for Vasse, are scratching around for the politics in every situation. I completely reject her suggestion. Essentially, two patients have passed away. One of those patients was in palliative care and we have not been able to determine whether legionella was the cause of death in the other patient. The premise of the question is incorrect. Again, this is another example of this terrible opposition. I am very confident that the hospital and the director general have taken this issue seriously. The director general and the chief executive of the hospital have provided very clear information and time lines about the issue of legionella at Sir Charles Gairdner. It is a very ageing hospital—there is no question about that—with a challenging plumbing network. The hospital undertakes constant testing and remediation. The safety of patients is always a priority. On top of that, the director general has requested that the environmental health directorate in the Department of Health undertake a full review of the North Metropolitan Health Service and all the other health service providers for waterborne communicable diseases. It will provide consistent testing and reporting advice. There was an error in briefing the minister at the end of last year, which has been well acknowledged by the health service and apologised for in writing. That does not make it a cover-up. It is an acknowledgement of an error, and the department has been very open about the steps that it has taken to remediate the issue.