Page 2726 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 13 August 2019
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The hydrotherapy pool at Canberra Hospital was built in the 1970s and is more than 40 years old. In 2009 the pool was closed to allow for significant remedial works to address water leaking from the pool, through the concrete slab and into the plant room. The works to rectify the issue resulted in the removal and replacement of tiles, the replacement of tanking, remedial works on the lintel, upgrade works to the electrical switchboard, upgrading the access ladder to the plant room, and the installation of a new elevated walkway in the plant room. These works were undertaken to ensure that the pool was operational for a further time-limited period. At that time a significant infrastructure program had just commenced at the Canberra Hospital campus and the building housing the pool was being considered for demolition and rebuild. This is no longer the case.
In 2015 the pool was again closed to allow for further remedial works to be undertaken. These works were varied, and ranged from rectifying leaking chemical injectors and leaking pipes, the removal of a redundant water tank due to the confined space risks, lighting replacements, bathroom repairs, painting and safety improvements.
The closure of the Canberra Hospital hydrotherapy pool was proposed in 2014 and 2015 as part of the broader University of Canberra Hospital service delivery plan public consultation. The proposed closure at this time was based on several factors, including the relocation of all public rehabilitation health services to UCH, and that ACT Health would no longer provide a service at the Canberra Hospital that required the use of this pool.
At the time the then health minister made a commitment that the Canberra Hospital pool would not be closed until a replacement public hydrotherapy pool was available. This commitment was met with the opening of a new state-of-the-art hydrotherapy pool at the University of Canberra Hospital in 2018.
Notwithstanding the remedial works, there continue to be significant infrastructure issues associated with the Canberra Hospital pool. The plant and equipment supporting the pool are located underneath the pool area in a confined space that has a single egress point that presents suboptimal maintenance access compared with contemporary pool plant room designs. The infrastructure supporting the pool, particularly the electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning or HVAC plant, is aged and without spare part backup in the event of likely failure of aged equipment.
Advice from the Canberra Health Services infrastructure team, noted in the Nous report, is that the current situation presents an increased staff safety risk in the event of emergency, such as a fire or pool chemical spill. Further, the report states:
In addition to the concerns regarding the mechanics of the pool, it has also been suggested that the pool is no longer fit for purpose. This view is not restricted to infrastructure and management officials, it is also the view shared by senior medical professionals. This observation is supported when comparing the current specifications for the pool with the Australian Standard for hydrotherapy pools and the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines for hydrotherapy pools.
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