Alarm at mould, asbestos found in Royal Hobart Hospital

ASBESTOS and mould have been found in two different blocks of the $689 million Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment, raising health and safety concerns.

RHH Crane pics.

ASBESTOS and mould have been found in two different blocks of the $689 million Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment, raising health and safety concerns in areas set to rehouse patients and staff.

Redevelopment project director Ben Moloney has confirmed mould from water damage has been found in a number of the temporary facility modules which were to be placed in the hospital’s forecourt to house B Block patients.

It follows an incident at the hospital on Friday when safety protocol was breached during the removal of asbestos from F Block.

Mr Moloney said Worksafe Tasmania had been notified of the asbestos incident and all further works by the subcontractor involved had been suspended pending a full report and evaluation.

He said an independent expert would be engaged to assess the impact of the mould found and the company managing the project on behalf the of the State Government would need to “provide evidence that the facility is free of contamination before it is handed over to the RHH Redevelopment”.

“The RHH Redevelopment can confirm advice that there is mould from water damage in a number of the temporary facility’s modules,” Mr Moloney said.

“In addition to the advice being provided by the hospital’s internal specialists in this field, an independent industrial hygienist is being commissioned by the RHH Redevelopment to review the issue and its management and to independently verify that the facility is clean, safe and fit for purpose.”

The problems have also raised concerns about the timeline of the project.

Patients were expected to be moved from B Block — which is being demolished — into the new temporary facility in the hospital forecourt by April.

Opposition health spokeswoman Rebecca White first raised concerns in State Parliament last week about the mould issue, only to be accused of “throwing rocks” by Health Minister Michael Ferguson.

Ms White said Labor understood that mould had been found in large sections of the new hospital and would take weeks to remove.

“This will impact on the timeline to decant and demolish B Block, and does put the project completion date of 2018 in doubt,” she said.

“The operation of this new section of the hospital is already months behind schedule.

“Michael Ferguson last year said he expected it would be ready for patients by January and now it seems unlikely to be ready until the end of April at best.

“Patients and staff have a right to ask questions about how a mould-infested building can be suitable for a hospital.”

Mr Moloney said the asbestos incident involved a breach of existing protocol by a sub-contractor during the removal of asbestos contained within a RHH Redevelopment construction zone.

“The RHH Redevelopment took immediate action to ensure the safety of everyone involved — patients, staff, contractors and our community,” Mr Moloney said.

“The most important point is that the incident has not put patients or staff at the Royal at risk.”

Mr Moloney said personnel present at the time of the incident were those who were directly removing the asbestos, and work immediately began to clean the area.

“Air monitoring confirmed that the levels of asbestos-containing fibres in the worksite had returned to an acceptable level,” he said.

Mr Moloney said the RHH Redevelopment was a major construction project that would face issues during its lifetime and that the project would continue to respond quickly and thoroughly to ensure safety.

He said possession of the new facility would not be accepted until the activities had been completed.

However, the hospital redevelopment team and Mr Ferguson’s office did not respond to a range of questions about timelines including:

HOW long will it take to complete the make good work?

WILL it be done in time for patients to transfer as planned?

WORK to start demolishing B Block is supposed to start next month. Is this on track?

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