SIR CHARLES GAIRDNER
HOSPITAL — WATER CONTAMINATION
850. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to concerns raised by the
Australian Medical Association Western Australia that ageing infrastructure at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is leading to
bacterial contamination in the water and is intermittently causing bed closures.
(1) Can the minister confirm whether
this is or is not the case?
(2) What
instigated the bed state black at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, which was
confirmed by North Metropolitan Health Service earlier this week?
Mr R.H.
COOK replied:
(1)–(2) Is
this a question about the water or is it a question about the bed state black,
or is the member just putting in a bundle?
Ms L. Mettam: It is a question
about the water and the bacterial contamination that is leading to bed
closures.
Mr R.H. COOK: Madam Speaker,
I do know a thing or two about contaminated water in hospitals—I do
know a thing or two! We know that the previous Liberal government's
lasting legacy to the people of Western Australia was an empty hospital that
could not be opened because there was lead in the water and asbestos in the
ceilings.
Several members interjected.
Mr
R.H. COOK: I can assure the
member for Vasse that we continually monitor the quality of water in all our
hospitals to make sure that it is fit for purpose and does
not impact upon patients' safety. Obviously, that is a very high level
of concern and from that perspective, I have received no brief to the
effect that there is any concern with the hospital water at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. I can repeat the
statement I made yesterday that the bed state black, which occurred at one
point recently, was because of a high number of patients who came to the
emergency department. I regret that the member for Vasse was not listening to
my answer yesterday when I answered that question in this place.
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, located on QEII
campus, is one of our older pieces of infrastructure, there is no doubt about that. It is why we spent $126 million as
part of our post-COVID stimulus package to make sure that we could do
upgrades and improvements on that campus to ensure that it continues to meet
the standards demanded by the people of Western Australia and the doctors and
nurses who work in it. Of course, we will soon see at that campus a very
important addition to our hospital system and that is a $1.8 billion women's
and newborns' hospital on that site. Clearly, this government is
investing heavily in our hospital system to make sure we can continue to
provide great world-class health care, not
only in our great facilities such as a new women's and newborns'
hospital, but also in our traditional longstanding institutions such as
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.