Sir Charles Gairdner work orders expose shameful scale of maintenance issues threatening staff, patient safety

Leaking “radioactive waste”, human excrement in the intensive care unit, and costly damage to equipment are just some of the hazards threatening patient and staff safety at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Internal documents obtained by The West Australian detail a breakdown in the ageing infrastructure at the health facility, with more than 1000 work orders inundating maintenance crews between January 2023 and June 2025. The most serious incident — denied by the government on Monday — was in March 2023, when staff claimed they were exposed to “radioactive waste”. “URGENT RAPID RADIATION LEAKAGE,” a staff member wrote in their maintenance request. “Pipe blocked, leaking into corridor. Need plumber to unblock. Call Physicist to supervise. DO NOT start work before calling physicist.” Maintenance crews attended the incident, and a follow-up report was lodged: “Radioactive waste pipe in the sub-basement has began (sic) leaking from the seal in 2 entrance values (valves). Radioactive water is dripping down onto the floor. Require a plumber to stop the leak. Work must be carried out early morning.” Since the spill, a further two leaks in the radioactive waste holding area have been reported in June 2023 and February this year. It’s unclear from the documents whether contaminated water was involved. In a statement, Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey denied the reported radioactive wastewater leak at the hospital, claiming it was less serious than reported in the maintenance logs. “The incident on 13 March 2023 in the G Block sub-basement was not a radioactive leak,” Minister Carey said. “It involved a non-hazardous water leak from a pipe. “I have been assured that the August 2024 sewage issue was not a pipe burst. It was a blockage.” During another serious building failure in August 2024, staff working in the northern section of the ICU declared multiple code yellow internal emergencies after a pipe failure sent sewage spewing into patient treatment bays. Several contractors including electricians and specialist sanitation services were required for the clean-up, which took almost a month to rectify. The documents show earlier in January 2023 another code yellow was declared by ICU staff due to a major pipe leak. Rectification works were requested to be completed within seven days. It took almost 12 months for the damage to be repaired. In many of the incidents, staff are reporting the inability to keep up with the deteriorating infrastructure, and delays are putting services at risk. “Water leak in ROOF above xray unit,” a staff member reported in August 2023. “High risk to damage (of) expensive machinery.” That leak wasn’t addressed until April the following year. “URGENT. We have water leaking from this duct and from the ROOF in the adjacent lab. This has happened 3 time (sic) now,” another report from June last year reads. “Previously reported.. last week. Please investigate and fix before we lose some expensive lab equipment.” That wouldn’t be fixed for several months. “P1 - 2nd P1 - Same task - water leaking through the ROOF impacting on patient care,” a report in July 2023 from the cardiovascular pacemaker room said. It was the second entry on the same day. A year later in August 2024, there were reports of a “leak coming through ROOF to pace clinic room.” Other parts of the hospital damaged by water have been left awaiting repairs for so long that staff fear they have been exposed to toxic black mould. “Leak above electrical equipment still has not been fixed. Black mould has now grown on adjacent roof panel. This panel is also now drooping. Worried mould is making employees sick and also worried about roof collapsing (has done so in the past),” a report from June 2024 said. “Now office is occupied, if roof were to collapse this will cause massive problems for health and safety. This has to be fixed ASAP, been reporting this leak for weeks. Multiple hazard reports have been raised.” Despite being categorised as a priority incident to be resolved within a day, the job took more than two weeks to be addressed. And when it was finally closed — the mould quickly returned. “Team - This is the 4th (report) raised for this issue, no one has fixed it, major WHS issue with roof leaking over employee desk. There is black mould causing staff to be sick. Please attend to this ASAP,” an August 2024 report said. It’s far from an isolated case — with some staff forced to report the same outbreaks of mould multiple times before they’re dealt with. In other parts of the hospital, repairs are carried out before the cause of the damage is addressed: “Water is gradually flooding the carpet which has only been replaced this month due to previous major leak.” There are consistent complaints across the facility about issues not being fixed. “Room is leaking once again, causing flooding on the carpeted area. The leak is linked to the aircon unit,” one staff member wrote. “Recent fixes of the same issue has resulted in no air conditioning for the entire department. Once air conditioning is restored the leak starts again. This appears to be a cycle.” Another air conditioning leak in the physiotherapy ward was left unaddressed for almost a year. “The repairman recommended that the aircon be replaced for a new unit, as it is old, decrepit, and running illegal gas,” the work order said. “Can we please get this aircon reviewed ASAP to stop it leaking with patients present and a quote for replacement of the Air Con in this room and the other treatment rooms.” Photos taken inside the hospital last week and obtained by The West Australian show signs of rusted and water damaged roof panels in multiple wards, while other sections are caked with dirt. In one photo taken from a public corridor, a dark furry substance resembling black mould can be seen growing from two separate areas on the ceiling affected by moisture. In the first six months of 2025 there were 185 maintenance requests — which equates to more than one job every day. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital was built in late 1950s and after nearly 70 years of operation, Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said the facility had deteriorated into “catastrophic” conditions. “He needs to drop everything else and make this his number one priority. “There is nothing more important and no more fundamental responsibility of any government than the care of sick, injured and dying West Australians.” The Opposition leader called on the Cook Government to abandon its plans for a racetrack at Burswood and redirect the hundreds of millions in funding towards urgent hospital repairs. “The Premier — a former health minister — must stop deflecting, dismissing and denying that the health system in this state of crisis,” Mr Zempilas said. “This Government is failing in its fundamental duty to care for sick, dying and injured West Australians. The Premier needs to stand up and explain how he is going to immediately fix these issues.” Minister Carey denied any presence of toxic black mould in the hospital and said investigations including air monitoring had been conducted. “Between January 2023 and June 2025, 592 work orders were raised, though many were duplicates reflecting proactive reporting by staff and facilities management,” he said. “Of these, 32 leaks were identified in ICU areas. The majority were resolved quickly as part of business-as-usual (BAU) maintenance.” North Metropolitan Health Service was contacted for comment but didn’t respond by deadline. Budget slashed as Charlies suffers As the damage and destruction piles up at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, North Metropolitan Health Service has cut its expenditure on maintenance and repairs. Analysis of its annual reports show the level of funding budgeted towards upkeep hasn’t increased in real terms for at least seven years. The health service spent about $37.6 million on repairs and maintenance in 2017, that was slashed by more than 32 per cent in the following two years down to $25.4m in 2019. Spending increased slightly over the following three years before reaching a high of $39.8m in 2022. The latest annual report budgets $33.2m towards maintenance and repairs in 2024, an 11 per cent decrease from 2017. On top of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, North Metropolitan Health Service is responsible for the operations of Osborne Park, Graylands, King Edward Memorial and Joondalup Health Campus.