Pigeon infestations, mould problems and fungus outbreaks: the notes read like the correspondence between a tenant and a terrible landlord. But these are reports of conditions within some of the state’s major public hospitals.
As health reporter Angus Thomson reports today, staff raised patient safety concerns over pigeon infestations at three NSW hospitals – Tamworth, Wollongong, and Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred – including instances where patients contracted bird lice. At Tamworth, a staff member who contracted bird lice required treatment in the emergency department.
Documents uncovered by the office of opposition health spokesperson Sarah Mitchell have found several instances of health staff raising the alarm on subpar conditions within our medical facilities.
The fresh documents come after the Herald revealed on Thursday that two transplant patients had died, and four others had contracted fungal infections, in a cluster linked to construction work at RPA.
Environmental testing found high mould spore concentrations in the hospital’s auditorium, ambulance drop-off area and early pregnancy assessment service.
Parliamentary documents requested by Mitchell’s office revealed further mould issues at Cumberland, Wyong, Ryde and John Hunter hospitals.
Hospitals are places where the sickest members of our community are housed and, among such a vulnerable population, outbreaks of infectious diseases are sadly not unheard of.
During the pandemic, COVID-19 clusters were reported at several Sydney hospitals, particularly among the immunocompromised. The latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows 553 staph infections were reported in patients of NSW public hospitals in 2024-25.
While no one wants to be in hospital for one illness and end up with another, infections acquired in hospital are accepted as a risk for vulnerable patients. Infection control measures such as handwashing protocols, barring visitors who have had cold and flu symptoms and requiring masks in certain settings are all common measures to reduce the risk.
But the situations detailed in the papers that have been brought to light over the past week are not a case of an unfortunate influenza outbreak in a ward during a bad flu season: they speak to serious issues with the maintenance of our state’s hospitals.
On Friday, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park insisted there was “no cover-up” when asked why the government did not inform the public of the cluster at RPA for two months, stressing staff, patients and their families were all kept informed.
Park will face budget estimates on Monday. He will be joined by Tracey McCosker, the chief executive of Hunter New England Local Health District, which manages Tamworth Hospital, as well as other health bureaucrats, including the department secretary.
They will undoubtedly face questions about the disgusting conditions that have recently been unveiled in hospitals. Mould and fungus left untreated wouldn’t be acceptable in a dodgy share house, so questions must be asked about how it made its way into our hospital wards.
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