Kylie Lang: Hospital mould fiasco stinks

When new laws rightly place landlords in breach if they don’t eradicate existing mould in rental properties within seven days, how is it that potentially deadly mould can be allowed to grow on the ceilings of our biggest hospital for weeks, asks Kylie Lang.

Imagine lying in a hospital bed, struck down with pneumonia and staring up at ghastly black mould growing across the ceiling – and they’re the spores you can see; the airborne ones are invisible but being sucked into your already infected lungs all the same.

Good luck with your recovery and welcome to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital – ward 9BN of the Ned Hanlon building to be precise.

Mould is a known cause of pneumonia and other lung and respiratory conditions, so what has it been doing contaminating the ceilings of Queensland’s largest teaching and research hospital?

High humidity and its spawn – potentially deadly mould – has affected many properties this crazy summer but you would think, wrongly as it turns out, that our hospitals would be hyper-vigilant.

Are maintenance crews doing additional checks as such extreme weather conditions would dictate?

Did no nurse or doctor happen to cast an eye skyward when doing their rounds? I know medical staff are stretched, but surely someone would have noticed and reported the matter to hospital management?

Ceilings in the 9BN ward in the Royal Brisbane and Women Hospital’s Ned Hanlon Building have been described as “filthy and disgusting” by a patient visitor who sent damning photographs to The Courier-Mail. Picture Supplied

Well, someone did notice and she reported it to me. Brisbane real estate agent Amanda Butler was visiting her 79-year-old friend on January 21 after the elderly woman was admitted with pneumonia on January 10.

Being in the property game, Ms Butler knows how serious mould is, with new laws placing landlords in breach if they don’t eradicate existing mould in rental properties within seven days.

Queensland Health is still working to eradicate the weeks’-long mould outbreak in the RBWH – we’re now in February – but more on that later.

Ms Butler, an asthmatic, was “horrified” to see thick mould on the ceiling while her friend, transferred on January 24 to the Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service in Herston, is still recovering from pneumonia.

“If we can’t have sterile hospital environments, people can’t be expected to get better and more unnecessary deaths will result,” Ms Butler said. She’s right.

The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Picture David Clark

Ask MouldMen CEO Gerard Murtagh, whose company has been flat chat ridding properties, including big hotels, of mould.

“I would expect our hospitals to be the safest place for Queenslanders,” he said.

When shown Ms Butler’s photographs, he said air and surface sampling would determine the strain and severity of the mould, and testing would “guarantee” the spores were multiplying and spreading.

He couldn’t fathom why the ceiling panels hadn’t been swiftly replaced, adding that if a relative of his were to be placed in such conditions, he’d have them moved immediately.

Mr Murtagh explained that when hot air with high humidity enters through an open door, as would occur when hospital staff or visitors come in, the moisture hits the coolest point – in this case, the airconditioning vent – and the condensation breeds mould.

Any surface that stays wet for 48 hours or more will grow mould.

Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital signage featuring the Ned Hanlon Building. Picture David Clark

“That a hospital hasn’t actioned this sooner is a question for them, but it would come back to the team knowing the severity of the mould growth and what could be causing patients to be getting sicker,” he said. “People with suppressed immune systems due to illness will spend all their energy trying to fight the mould but they won’t be able to, they will get more run down and very, very sick.”

Maria Boulton, president of the Australian Medical Association (Queensland), confirmed exposure to pathogenic mould could not only cause but also worsen pneumonia.

Dr Boulton said people who were immunosuppressed – which could mean anyone admitted to hospital – would be “at risk of secondary infections and severe illness”.

But never mind the experts.

A government spokesperson for Metro North Health said in a statement to The Courier-Mail: “We are confident in our mould management processes and reject any suggestion patient safety is at risk.

“Metro North Health has comprehensive strategies in place for the management of mould, including regular monitoring and maintenance, cleaning, air-testing, and HEPA-filters for high-risk areas.

“Where mould is identified, prompt mitigation action is taken, including risk assessments to ensure no patients are at risk. Steps are currently underway to address this (mould) situation, including cleaning and replacement of ceiling tiles.”

Work is expected to be completed next week. Too little, too late, many people – including patients and their loved ones – would argue.

Kylie lang is associate editor of the courier-mail
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