Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital: D block flooding overnight as State Government battles maintenance issues

Maintenance workers’ list of jobs at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital continued to grow after a bout of flooding in one of the hospital’s ageing buildings overnight. The blustery storm in the metropolitan area was too much for the ageing windows in D block on Wednesday night, resulting in water ingress and damaged flooring. North Metropolitan Health Service described the incident as a “minor leak” in a “non-patient facing area”. “A minor leak occurred via a window in an unoccupied office space during the storm last night,” an NMHS spokeswoman said. “The rain ingress occurred through the window seal . . . The minor leak was attended to by the shift engineer.” However, it’s not the first minor issue D block, built in the early 1970s, has dealt with. Documents obtained by The West Australian contained more than 20 work orders for the ageing building in two years — often for the same or similar problems. “Door 1.71 roof leak onto carpet. Carpet is very wet now with strong odour - please also supply dehumidifier to dry carpet,” a 2023 report said. “P1 - Due to ongoing mould growth concerns, carpet through IV lounge entry corridor and reception area to be replaced with vinyl. Roof remediation is imminent to address leaks into unit, and this should be completed prior to flooring changes,” another report from the same year said. “WHS Occupational Hygienist . . . (has) recommended carpet cleaning to offices and hallways to help improve carpet health. Pls Arrange. Due to water leak over the period of time, carpet has mould and need to attend to this URGENTLY,” a report from March this year said. A chemical spill also occurred on Wednesday night, which NMHS also described as “minor”, when a staff member dropped a specimen, spilling Formalin, the liquid form of formaldehyde. “The shift engineer was attending to another issue, and the spill was attended to by a cleaner under the supervision of a shift nurse. All protocols were followed,” the spokeswoman said. “No services were impacted as a result of either occurrence.” The beleaguered hospital has been the subject of intense scrutiny this week after The West laid bare the extent of damage and repair works being frequently undertaken at the hospital. A trove of documents containing more than 1000 work orders revealed leaking and flooding due to inclement weather was almost constant at SCGH, particularly in the winter months. Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey on Thursday conceded he wants more money to fix the ailing hospital following the revelations. “I do anticipate that we will be making more investment in Charlies with that ageing infrastructure . . . I will, look, as a minister, every minister and every portfolio advocates for more funding,” he said outside State Parliament. Just hours later, he downplayed the recent D block leak during Question Time in Parliament. “There was a leak in the D block and carpet was damaged. Rain came through a window. It was relatively a minor leak in an unoccupied area,” Mr Carey said.