02-06-2025
Electric shocks, slips and mould: SafeWork serves notice to hospital
SafeWork has cracked down on the dangerous work environment at the Calvary Mater Hospital, ordering several issues to be fixed.
Hunter New England Health has been issued with an improvement notice, which found it had failed to ensure reasonable health and safety due to risks of "slips, electric shock and inhalation of mould spores from rain water ingress and humidity".
The notice, which also found the contractual building management system was inadequate, was served to HNEH as the owners of the building.
The SafeWork order comes after NSW Health Minister Ryan Park met with the hospital's administrators to discuss a mould outbreak in the building's airconditioners, including in a ward with immunocompromised patients.
The Newcastle Herald recently revealed SafeWork inspected the hospital in April, but missed the issues, including leaks that caused internal flooding and forced chemotherapy treatments to be cancelled.
NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Calvary Mater branch secretary Camilla Smith said despite the improvement notice, the hospital's work environment remained dangerous to staff and patients.
"We're glad to to see progress, but we'll be feeling a lot better when the problems are actually fixed," Ms Smith said.
"We shouldn't have got here in the first place. We've been let down by the lack of transparency and staff don't trust the management of the building."
The lack of action to fix the Mater's ongoing issues has brought the hospital's complicated management structure under scrutiny.
The Mater is managed under a public-private partnership (PPP) by a consortium called Novacare, which is composed of four companies: Westpac Banking, Abigroup, Honeywell and Medirest.
Novacare director James Ward said the company couldn't comment as it was "bound by confidentiality requirements", and any response would need approval from the state government.
HNEH and the NSW Health Minister have repeatedly stated Novacare was responsible for the hospital's infrastructure and maintenance.
"Minister Park and [Calvary Health Care CEO] Martin Bowles both agreed that it needs to be resolved as a matter of priority and urgency," a spokesperson for the Health Minister said.
"Work is being undertaken to address the situation as quickly as possible."
In March, the government passed Joe's Law to ban future PPPs for the state's acute hospitals after the death of a toddler at Northern Beaches Hospital.
Mr Park has previously stated he does not support PPPs for future acute hospitals.
Ms Smith said Mater's maintenance mess was more evidence PPPs were no longer fit for purpose.
"You've got a private company trying to make a profit of managing an acute care hospital, so when problems arise and money needs to be spent, no one wants to foot the bill," she said.
HNEH confirmed it had received the SafeWork notice and was working with its partners and contractors, including NovaCare, to determine appropriate remediations.
SafeWork has cracked down on the dangerous work environment at the Calvary Mater Hospital, ordering several issues to be fixed.
Hunter New England Health has been issued with an improvement notice, which found it had failed to ensure reasonable health and safety due to risks of "slips, electric shock and inhalation of mould spores from rain water ingress and humidity".
The notice, which also found the contractual building management system was inadequate, was served to HNEH as the owners of the building.
The SafeWork order comes after NSW Health Minister Ryan Park met with the hospital's administrators to discuss a mould outbreak in the building's airconditioners, including in a ward with immunocompromised patients.
The Newcastle Herald recently revealed SafeWork inspected the hospital in April, but missed the issues, including leaks that caused internal flooding and forced chemotherapy treatments to be cancelled.
NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Calvary Mater branch secretary Camilla Smith said despite the improvement notice, the hospital's work environment remained dangerous to staff and patients.
"We're glad to to see progress, but we'll be feeling a lot better when the problems are actually fixed," Ms Smith said.
"We shouldn't have got here in the first place. We've been let down by the lack of transparency and staff don't trust the management of the building."
The lack of action to fix the Mater's ongoing issues has brought the hospital's complicated management structure under scrutiny.
The Mater is managed under a public-private partnership (PPP) by a consortium called Novacare, which is composed of four companies: Westpac Banking, Abigroup, Honeywell and Medirest.
Novacare director James Ward said the company couldn't comment as it was "bound by confidentiality requirements", and any response would need approval from the state government.
HNEH and the NSW Health Minister have repeatedly stated Novacare was responsible for the hospital's infrastructure and maintenance.
"Minister Park and [Calvary Health Care CEO] Martin Bowles both agreed that it needs to be resolved as a matter of priority and urgency," a spokesperson for the Health Minister said.
"Work is being undertaken to address the situation as quickly as possible."
In March, the government passed Joe's Law to ban future PPPs for the state's acute hospitals after the death of a toddler at Northern Beaches Hospital.
Mr Park has previously stated he does not support PPPs for future acute hospitals.
Ms Smith said Mater's maintenance mess was more evidence PPPs were no longer fit for purpose.
"You've got a private company trying to make a profit of managing an acute care hospital, so when problems arise and money needs to be spent, no one wants to foot the bill," she said.
HNEH confirmed it had received the SafeWork notice and was working with its partners and contractors, including NovaCare, to determine appropriate remediations.
SafeWork has cracked down on the dangerous work environment at the Calvary Mater Hospital, ordering several issues to be fixed.
Hunter New England Health has been issued with an improvement notice, which found it had failed to ensure reasonable health and safety due to risks of "slips, electric shock and inhalation of mould spores from rain water ingress and humidity".
The notice, which also found the contractual building management system was inadequate, was served to HNEH as the owners of the building.
The SafeWork order comes after NSW Health Minister Ryan Park met with the hospital's administrators to discuss a mould outbreak in the building's airconditioners, including in a ward with immunocompromised patients.
The Newcastle Herald recently revealed SafeWork inspected the hospital in April, but missed the issues, including leaks that caused internal flooding and forced chemotherapy treatments to be cancelled.
NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Calvary Mater branch secretary Camilla Smith said despite the improvement notice, the hospital's work environment remained dangerous to staff and patients.
"We're glad to to see progress, but we'll be feeling a lot better when the problems are actually fixed," Ms Smith said.
"We shouldn't have got here in the first place. We've been let down by the lack of transparency and staff don't trust the management of the building."
The lack of action to fix the Mater's ongoing issues has brought the hospital's complicated management structure under scrutiny.
The Mater is managed under a public-private partnership (PPP) by a consortium called Novacare, which is composed of four companies: Westpac Banking, Abigroup, Honeywell and Medirest.
Novacare director James Ward said the company couldn't comment as it was "bound by confidentiality requirements", and any response would need approval from the state government.
HNEH and the NSW Health Minister have repeatedly stated Novacare was responsible for the hospital's infrastructure and maintenance.
"Minister Park and [Calvary Health Care CEO] Martin Bowles both agreed that it needs to be resolved as a matter of priority and urgency," a spokesperson for the Health Minister said.
"Work is being undertaken to address the situation as quickly as possible."
In March, the government passed Joe's Law to ban future PPPs for the state's acute hospitals after the death of a toddler at Northern Beaches Hospital.
Mr Park has previously stated he does not support PPPs for future acute hospitals.
Ms Smith said Mater's maintenance mess was more evidence PPPs were no longer fit for purpose.
"You've got a private company trying to make a profit of managing an acute care hospital, so when problems arise and money needs to be spent, no one wants to foot the bill," she said.
HNEH confirmed it had received the SafeWork notice and was working with its partners and contractors, including NovaCare, to determine appropriate remediations.
SafeWork has cracked down on the dangerous work environment at the Calvary Mater Hospital, ordering several issues to be fixed.
Hunter New England Health has been issued with an improvement notice, which found it had failed to ensure reasonable health and safety due to risks of "slips, electric shock and inhalation of mould spores from rain water ingress and humidity".
The notice, which also found the contractual building management system was inadequate, was served to HNEH as the owners of the building.
The SafeWork order comes after NSW Health Minister Ryan Park met with the hospital's administrators to discuss a mould outbreak in the building's airconditioners, including in a ward with immunocompromised patients.
The Newcastle Herald recently revealed SafeWork inspected the hospital in April, but missed the issues, including leaks that caused internal flooding and forced chemotherapy treatments to be cancelled.
NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Calvary Mater branch secretary Camilla Smith said despite the improvement notice, the hospital's work environment remained dangerous to staff and patients.
"We're glad to to see progress, but we'll be feeling a lot better when the problems are actually fixed," Ms Smith said.
"We shouldn't have got here in the first place. We've been let down by the lack of transparency and staff don't trust the management of the building."
The lack of action to fix the Mater's ongoing issues has brought the hospital's complicated management structure under scrutiny.
The Mater is managed under a public-private partnership (PPP) by a consortium called Novacare, which is composed of four companies: Westpac Banking, Abigroup, Honeywell and Medirest.
Novacare director James Ward said the company couldn't comment as it was "bound by confidentiality requirements", and any response would need approval from the state government.
HNEH and the NSW Health Minister have repeatedly stated Novacare was responsible for the hospital's infrastructure and maintenance.
"Minister Park and [Calvary Health Care CEO] Martin Bowles both agreed that it needs to be resolved as a matter of priority and urgency," a spokesperson for the Health Minister said.
"Work is being undertaken to address the situation as quickly as possible."
In March, the government passed Joe's Law to ban future PPPs for the state's acute hospitals after the death of a toddler at Northern Beaches Hospital.
Mr Park has previously stated he does not support PPPs for future acute hospitals.
Ms Smith said Mater's maintenance mess was more evidence PPPs were no longer fit for purpose.
"You've got a private company trying to make a profit of managing an acute care hospital, so when problems arise and money needs to be spent, no one wants to foot the bill," she said.
HNEH confirmed it had received the SafeWork notice and was working with its partners and contractors, including NovaCare, to determine appropriate remediations.
