High levels of lead detected in the water at Perth Children’s Hospital do not pose a risk to patient safety, health authorities say.<\/p>\n
It was revealed last week that testing conducted at a number of locations at the hospital between 2023 and mid-2024 showed higher-than-acceptable levels of lead.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) confirmed remediation resulted in no further detections.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Elevated lead levels have once again been found in the water at PCH, one of the issues which delayed its opening. (
\n ABC News: Mark Leonardi
\n )<\/p>\n
But on Tuesday, WA Health Minister Meredith Hammat told parliament she was informed on Friday a further five instances of higher-than-acceptable lead were recorded in the hospital.<\/p>\n
The latest results were from two different sites at PCH, which remain unknown.<\/p>\n
“Exceedances are decommissioned while they undergo remediation,” Ms Hammat said.<\/p>\n
“I have been advised by the Chief Health Officer that there is no risk to the safety of patients or staff as a result of these exceedances.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The health minister says there is no risk to public safety from the elevated lead levels.\u00a0 (ABC News: Keane Bourke)<\/p>\n
In a statement, a CAHS spokesperson said one of the sites was accessible to staff and the other was accessible to visitors.<\/p>\n
Given the history of PCH’s issues with lead contamination when it was constructed, Ms Hammat said regular testing was important and when higher-than-acceptable lead levels were identified, they could be “rectified immediately”.<\/p>\n
Lead contamination in water was one of a range of issues that delayed the opening of the facility, which had been due to start operating in 2015, until 2018.<\/p>\n
Ms Hammat said she had overhauled the requirements of reporting issues with water in WA’s hospitals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Any risky abnormalities with water at PCH will now be reported to Health Minister Meredith Hammat.\u00a0 (ABC News: Keane Bourke)<\/p>\n
“Any exceedances that present a risk to patients or staff will be formally reported to me as minister, as a matter of urgency,” she said.<\/p>\n
One of the minister’s directions included a requirement for health service providers to regularly report results of their water testing regimes to the department and notify the Chief Health Officer when exceedances were detected.<\/p>\n
Calls for full transparency<\/p>\n
The WA President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Kyle Hoath, said “no amount” of lead was safe in a hospital.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately the risk with lead is that there really is no safe level,” he told ABC Radio Perth.<\/p>\n
“Particularly in children, even a small amount of lead in water can have a pretty significant impact on development.”<\/p>\n
Dr Hoath says there needed to be full transparency from government about the exceedances so people could be confident in the safety of WA hospitals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dr Kyle Hoath says he has no doubts about the safety of drinking water at PCH.\u00a0 (ABC News: Lauren Smith)<\/p>\n
“I have no doubt that it’s safe to be at PCH right now, no doubt that they’re handling this issue appropriately, but it’s concerning to me that \u2026 it’s any attempt to not be transparent and open about that, or to hide that’s unacceptable,” he said.<\/p>\n
Dr Hoath said he would like to see the “full extent” of what has been observed in the exceedances.<\/p>\n
“Going forward \u2026 any sort of workplace safety issue or any particular risk to the patients at hospital should be reported openly and promptly and certainly not coming to light later,” he said.<\/p>\n
WA Health Consumers Council executive director Clare Mullen said when people saw headlines about the water issues, questions were raised about what it meant for their family’s safety.<\/p>\n
“In the absence of a clear and trusted information source where they can get the answers to the questions that they have, people do start to, potentially reach conclusions that might not be right,” she told ABC Radio Perth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Clare Mullen is the Health Consumers Council chief executive officer.\u00a0 (Supplied)<\/p>\n
“So we really encourage more transparency and information, that’s written thinking about if these patients and families are reading this, what might they be worried about?”<\/p>\n
Ms Mullen said people may not understand what it meant for lead levels to be “exceeded”, so conveying that information clearly was key.<\/p>\n
“I want it explained to me in lay terms where I can then say oh yes, I have those questions, I can see those answers and I can have my trust be reassured,” she said.<\/p>\n
PCH water ‘safe to drink’<\/p>\n
WA’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Andrew Robertson,\u00a0backed the water quality testing carried out at the hospital.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WA’s Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson said water quality testing at PCH would continue. (ABC News: David Weber)<\/p>\n
“The Perth Children’s Hospital has a well-established testing regime in place which is consistent with national standards,” he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“I can assure patients, staff and visitors that the water at Perth Children’s Hospital is safe to drink.<\/p>\n
“I have confidence in this testing \u2014 it is a proactive program so that the Child and Adolescent Health Service can undertake remediation when exceedances are detected.<\/p>\n
“CAHS will continue to test and monitor the water on an ongoing basis.”<\/p>\n
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