Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital—Radioactive leakage
481. Hon Nick Goiran to the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health Infrastructure:
I refer to the revelation that in March 2023, a staff member requested urgent maintenance at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital for rapid radiation leakage and that the follow-up report recorded that radioactive water was leaking and dripping.
(1) Will the minister table the maintenance request and follow-up report?
(2) Is the parliamentary secretary aware that Minister Carey has stated the incident "was not a radioactive leak"?
(3) Will the parliamentary secretary table the documents, if any, provided to Minister Carey that verify his assertion?
(4) On how many other occasions has radioactive contamination been reported or detected requiring remediation at the hospital?
(5) Have any concerns been raised that the hospital is no longer fit for purpose regarding patient and staff safety?
Hon Dr Katrina Stratton replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(3) The Department of Health advises that the leak occurred in a pipe within the sub-basement of the hospital. The sub-basement is not accessed by patients and is accessible only to technical staff. A physicist in nuclear medicine confirmed that there was no issue before the remedial works were undertaken.
(4) Zero.
(5) The hospital is fully accredited and safe, and provides care for more than half a million Western Australians annually.
