- State political editor Brad Crouch
- From:Sunday Mail (SA)
- April 21, 2012
PATIENTS at the Women's and Children's Hospital were under "serious threat" because of multiple breaches of fire safety standards.
The Metropolitan Fire Service ordered the hospital to undertake urgent repair work after the 2009 audit found "the maintenance of the essential fire safety provisions appear to have been neglected for a long time".
Details of the triennial audit have emerged in documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws.
In the report the MFS said that in order that "fire safety aspects of the building are not compromised, priority 1 and 2 matters must be attended to before this department can issue a fire safety clearance certificate".
The report identified five areas listed as needing priority 1 action - matters that represent a "serious threat" to occupants or property that must be rectified immediately.
Storage of equipment in paths was common practice throughout the hospital while "the number of failed (exit) lights was too many to list on an individual basis," the audit shows, while noting warnings about unsatisfactory fire detectors date back 13 years.
Opposition treasury spokesman Iain Evans, who sought the documents, said the results were "a disgrace".
"This is a towering inferno waiting to happen from a Government that can find money for football stadiums and thinkers in residence but not on the basics," Mr Evans said.
"One way for the Government to meet its budget savings measures is to cut back on building maintenance, and if they are not keeping the WCH up to a safe standard then you have to be concerned about whether other government buildings are being maintained to an appropriate standard."
SA Health released a statement to the Sunday Mail saying the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards reviewed the audit last year and was satisfied remedial action had occurred.
"All of the actions identified in the MFS audit have been addressed or are in the process of being addressed by WCH," the statement said.
"The staged plan for improving fire safety at the hospital has also included the replacement of fire panels and smoke detectors, and a further $200,000 has been allocated for upgrading the hospital's smoke detectors.
"In 2011-12 SA Health allocated a further $3.3 million to address fire safety compliance issues across the state, in addition to fire safety works."
Health Minister John Hill told Parliament this month the most recent fire audits of metropolitan hospitals identified 163 priority 1 and 70 priority 2 recommendations; of these, 108 priority 1 and 49 priority 2 recommendations have been completed and the rest are under way or awaiting funding.
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