Theatres flooded at new hospital
Ambulances are being diverted from Perth's new Fiona Stanley Hospital because of a flooding in the main building.
A spokeswoman said a main pipe that supplies water to the ward towers burst on Sunday morning, affecting access to hot water and the air condition system in the hospital.
Eight theatres have been closed because of flooding and dampness with some elective surgeries postponed until Monday.
Ambulances have also been diverted from the hospital as a precaution but walk-in presentations to the emergency department are continuing.
About a dozen patients that were due to be transferred to other hospitals on Monday have been moved a day earlier.
“There is no risk to patient safety,” the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said the pipe was expected to be fixed by Sunday night, at which time ambulances would be able to drop patients at the facility.
As a result the hospital is on ambulance diversion as a precaution.
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The hospital spokeswoman said ambulance diversion was coordinated by a roster of senior medical staff representatives from tertiary hospitals. Once a hospital is placed on bypass, St John Ambulance will balance the load between the remaining hospital Emergency Departments based on activity and patient acuity.
There was no risk to patient safety.
Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said he had been told ambulances had been diverted, theatres closed and surgeries had been cancelled.
“We went through eight months of Fiona Stanley Hospital without any patients at a cost of $150 million and the Government’s justification was that would allow time for all of these commissioning issues, maintenance and the like to be resolved,” Mr McGowan said.
“Clearly that has not happened.”
Mr McGowan said he believed the water leak added weight to a call for an inquiry into the hospital, saying something seemed to go wrong every day.
He said it also backed Labor’s claims that it was a mistake to pay Serco to help run the hospital.
“We’ll have to wait and see what excuses are arrived at (about what caused the leak) but (I believe) these are maintenance issues and they’re responsible, as I understand it, for maintenance,” he said.
“I think everything that’s happened at the hospital shows the integration of Serco with the public sector hasn’t worked.”
Last week, the WA health system's acting chief conceded there were more clinical incidents at Fiona Stanley Hospital than at other WA hospitals and he had concerns about its sterilisation and the delivery of medical supplies.
But Professor Bryant Stokes is "happy with most aspects" of private company Serco's running of the state-of-the-art hospital.
Professor Stokes said he had spoken to Health Minister Kim Hames about issues at the hospital and they had made "certain plans" he was not yet prepared to discuss.
His comments came after a former FSH patient, who is allergic to mushrooms, revealed he had a reaction to a meal there during his five-day stay last month.
