Patients kept in the dark over confirmed water contamination at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital

Patients at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital have questioned why they were kept in the dark about the detection of bacteria in the health facility’s water supply. A father who was at the hospital in November with his sick son, said signs were often placed on taps saying “out of service, do not use” - but claims staff were never upfront about the presence of legionella. Legionella, which can lead to legionnaires’ disease, pneumonia and respiratory issues, was first discovered in the water supply at the North Metropolitan Health Service campus on October 27. However, the McGowan Government and the Health Department originally denied the existence of legionella, until it was forced to admit it had been detected at SCGH in the Upper House on Tuesday. The father, who did not want to be named, told The West circular white filters - which the Health Department estimated had cost $18,000 so far - were fitted onto taps in his son’s room. He claimed they were regularly replaced by plumbers and left to flush for about “10 minutes each day”. “Several patients were asking questions, including myself, and the response was that they had been advised not to discuss with patients,” he said. He had to resort to Googling the brand of the filter to try and find answers, and became so paranoid he only drank bottled water during his son’s stint in hospital. The concerned father believes patients should have been informed sooner - considering many of them suffer from serious illnesses. Although a NMHS spokeswoman described the risk as “extremely low” and said patients were never advised to avoid drinking the water, the Australian Medical Association WA president Mark Duncan Smith said it was not ideal to have bacteria around patients. He said the bacteria would be more of a risk if it was found in the air conditioning system, as the disease can only cause pneumonia when “aerosol”. “In theory, if someone was to shower in that water, that could cause aerosol and that could be a way that could cause a disease,” Dr Duncan-Smith said. A NMHS spokeswoman confirmed one bed/room had to be closed due to the contaminated water situation. “Patients are notified if there is a disruption to their usual care in the hospital or if the water is not safe to use,” she said. “This was not the case as the water is safe and bacterial filters were immediately applied.” Opposition health spokeswoman Libby Mettam questioned the transparency of Health Minister Roger Cook - who dismissed the original legionella claims in Parliament. Mr Cook was contacted for comment on when he first became aware of the bacteria in the hospital’s water supply. It follows the detection of lead in the water at Perth Children’s Hospital in 2018.