‘Ongoing pigeon problem’: Hospital review finds 112 maintenance faults

The Minns government has launched a snap review into the state’s hospitals’ menagerie of maintenance issues, after fungus, maggots and pigeons wreaked havoc on patient care, in two instances causing patient fatalities.

The review ordered by Health Minister Ryan Park has so far identified 112 “non-routine” issues over the past year, of which 74 have been resolved, 32 are being rectified, and six are being examined more closely.

Park also listed a litany of past problems that had befallen the state’s hospitals, from mosquitoes and crickets to beetles, cockroaches and possums.

Last week, the Sydney Morning Herald revealed pigeon infestations at the Royal Prince Alfred and two other NSW hospitals had led to patients and staff catching bird lice; incidents of excrement dripping from ceiling vents; and a dead smell in corridors.

Two transplant patients had died, and four others contracted fungal infections in a cluster linked to construction work at RPA, and families of cancer patients at the Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle had launched a class action after discovering air-conditioning ducts were riddled with a potentially deadly mould in a unit where maggots dropped onto patients’ beds.

The ongoing issues identified by Park’s review include:

• Ongoing challenges with pigeons at RPA and Tamworth hospitals.
• Roof rectification works at Muswellbrook hospital.
• Roof rectification works at four facilities in northern NSW.
• Mould and maintenance issues with hydrotherapy services in the Mid North Coast.
• Water ingress from storm damage and plumbing issues at Coonabarabran.

Park said he expected more issues to be added to the list as the review continued.

“With over 4000 buildings under NSW Health, including 220 hospitals, of varying ages, in a state that has endured a spate of severe weather events, it is unrealistic to pledge that there will never be maintenance issues,” Park said. “But I can pledge that the health system will work as quickly as possible to rectify them.”

Park exhumed several issues that were made public via media reports, including mosquitoes at Liverpool Hospital in 2019, crickets at Goulburn Hospital in 2021, beetles at Coffs Harbour Hospital in 2020, mould at Wyong in 2013, and asbestos, a leaking roof and a possum at Concord Hospital in 2016.

But he said he had recently been alerted to several more problems at hospitals that were not publicly reported, including flies at Royal North Shore in 2019, birds at Westmead in 2017, cockroaches at Wyong in 2017, possums at Balmain in 2012, pigeons at Gladesville in 2017 and bird lice at Tamworth in 2022.

Processes are in place for staff to report cleaning or maintenance issues, and local maintenance teams generally addressed these promptly, Park said. However, some issues required further expertise, which could take time.

He said hospitals that underwent independent assessment over the past two years had met national standards, including those related to hospital cleanliness.

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