Defects in walls and ceilings to be fixed in new Busselton Health Campus
Updated
Cracks in wall panels and ceiling damage must be repaired in the newly-built Busselton hospital.
According to the South West Director of the WA Country Health Service Kerry Winsor, the lining defects had been caused by workmanship which had not followed the manufacturer’s specifications.
Ms Winsor denied that the defects were structural, as had been claimed by MLC Adele Farina.
“The panels have to be removed and re-installed with correct support,” Ms Winsor said.
A structural engineering report by WA Country Health stated that “there is no risk to patient or staff safety”, Ms Winsor said.
“They did advise that the remediation work be undertaken. And that has started.”
Cracks were monitored
“The cracks were discovered about three months ago,” Ms Winsor said.
“There were defects which were considered to be normal for a newly built building.”
She said the problems were monitored and through this inspection, “it became apparent that it was more widespread that initially thought”.
Engineering opinion confirmed the wider extent of the cracking.
“A large proportion of the ceiling is affected but there is no estimation is available for the percentage of damage to walls,” Ms Winsor said.
Affect on patients expected to be negligible
“Bed availability has not been a problem so far because the facility has significant beds available for future growth”, Ms Winsor said.
“We have been able to move the patient areas to different areas of the hospital while the repair work is being done.
“Walking through the hospital, it is not always apparent that work is being carried out.
The emergency department, main entry and corridors are some of the areas needing to fixed.
“Plans are in place so that services are not disrupted, “Ms Winsor said.
Responsibility for payment lies with the builder
Ms Winsor said the Department of Treasury’s Strategic Projects and Asset Sales division had confirmed that the cost of the remediation works being carried out at the Campus was the responsibility of the builder Doric Contractors.
She could not say exactly how long the work would take but expected that “it will be months”.
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