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Middlemore Hospital buildings are riddled with mould due to leaky building, new information reveals

March 22, 2018

The hospital has known of the issues since 2012 but the Minister of Health says he only just learned of them.

Four of Middlemore Hospital's buildings are suffering from mould due to leaky building syndrome, it has been revealed.

An Official Information Act request received by RNZ revealed the issue, with RNZ reporting the buildings include the Kidz First, Scott and McIndoe buildings at Otahuhu, as well as the Superclinic at Manukau.

The buildings were designed built by construction company Hawkins between 1999 and 2001, near the peak of the leaky buildings issue, and before untreated timber framing in walls was banned.

The mould found includes brown rot, fungus and Stachybotrys, which can make people very sick if they are exposed to it.

The documents also show that hospital management was aware of the problem for years, but have not fixed it.

Surveyors Alexander and Co said in a report to the district health board that "the timeframes for repair are critical as the moisture damage of these buildings is in places close to breaching the internal linings".

"Ad-hoc emergency repairs are unlikely to be an acceptable option as they present a risk to patients and staff and will adversely affect the smooth operation of the facility.

"We understand that at least some patients and also staff will have a low resistance to mould contaminated building materials affecting the air quality ... this factor alone may impact on the required urgency and timing of the repairs".

It's understood the mould is not currently exposed to patients, as it is inside of walls, but breaches of the walls could be an emergency situation.

Counties Manukau DHB acting chief executive Gloria Johnson told RNZ that "at this time, clinical expert advice is that provided the wall spaces are not open to ventilation into the hospital, or near to an air intake, patient safety is not compromised by the fungal growth found".

A piece of cladding fell off one building in 2012, leading to the discovery of the problem, and there are fears that other pieces could fall off due to mould damage and hurt people.

The documents obtained show the DHB took an offshoot of Hawkins to court in 2012 after the problem was discovered, and obtained an undisclosed settlement over the leaky buildings.

The DHB has now awarded Hawkins the contract to fix the damage in the building it designed, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.

RNZ reports that the DHB wants to keep all the buildings in operation while repair work is undertaken, and that they have not revealed what safety measures are in place at any of the four hospitals.

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