Hospital’s aircon failure
Patients suffer in heat: ’It’s uncomfortable enough to be in pain’
PATIENTS in Launceston General Hospital’s D-Block have been forced to endure indoor temperatures of up to 27C this week, a situation described as “dreadful” and “not acceptable” by a well-known businessman whose mother is in the ward.
Brett Victory, the owner of Beaconsfield’s Miners Gold Brewery, told the Mercury he went to visit his mum in DBlock between 2.15pm and 3pm on Monday, after she sustained a fall.
He took a picture of the thermostat showing the temperature at 26.9C.
“Sitting in her room by her bedside in 27C with a mask made me feel very uncomfortable. This is not acceptable,” he said.
“Mum looked like she’d been hit by double decker bus. It’s uncomfortable enough to be in pain. Every patient in the room commented (on the heat). An older lady directly opposite was really fanning herself. It’s dreadful.”
Mr Victory said he was told by staff the block’s airconditioning had been an issue for upwards of three years and they encouraged him to complain to help get it fixed.
Department of Health Deputy Secretary Infrastructure Shane Gregory moved to assure the community the Launceston General Hospital was safe.
“The airconditioning unit in the LGH’s D-Block has experienced a fault in recent days, which is being repaired as a matter of priority,” he said.
“Patients are being monitored closely and extra support and relief has been provided to D-Block staff, including an additional air-conditioned break out area.”
Mr Gregory said the Tasmanian government had invested $1.4m on cooling in priority areas of the LGH since 2018, and a project team was also reviewing the hospital’s airconditioning system more broadly.”
The Mercury has seen an internal email sent to LGH staff on Tuesday by Jen Duncan, chief executive of Hospitals North, in which she described heat woes in D Block as a “long historical issue”.
“Consultation with the deputy secretary of infrastructure has determined one of the eight chillers ‘tripped out’... reducing capacity by 10–12 per cent and causing a temperature spike,” the email said.
“The system was designed to cater for 28C external ambient and as a result, higher external temp causes problems.
“The airflow is also problematic, with cool air fed into corridors and drawn through rooms via toilet outlets which was changed based on feedback from Infection Prevention and Control Service around Covid.
“It is acknowledged the system has more load on it than originally anticipated, additions to buildings and small changes over many years means there hasn’t been a real overhaul of the system.”
In the email, Ms Duncan said a “project group” would be convened next week for “review of HVAC (heating, ventilation, and airconditioning) across the campus and replacement of the system as part of the major risk”.