Page 4733 - Week 13 - Thursday, 28 November 2019
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The hydrotherapy pool at Canberra Hospital was built during the 1970s and is close to 50 years old. Over the past 10 years there has been significant remedial work to address maintenance issues with the pool. In 2009 the pool was closed to allow for significant work to fix water leaking from the pool through the concrete slab into the pool plant and equipment room. At the time all the tiles were replaced in the pool, the tanking was replaced, remedial work was undertaken on the lintel, the access ladder to the plant room was remediated and a new elevated walkway was installed in the plant room. These works were carried out to ensure that the pool would be operational for a limited period of time.
The pool was again closed in late 2015 for additional maintenance. At this time the leaking chemical injectors and leaking pipes were fixed, a water tank was removed, and lighting was replaced. There were bathroom repairs and painting, and overall safety improvements made.
One of the main reasons the hydrotherapy pool at Canberra Hospital needs to close is the location of the plant and equipment room underneath the pool area. As I have noted before, access is a single egress point and the plant room is a confined space. This poses a significant safety risk to maintenance staff. In addition, due to the age of the mechanical plant, some spare parts are no longer manufactured and there are concerns that if there are issues with the mechanical switchboard plant there are no spare parts in the event of equipment failure. The electrical and heating ventilation and air-conditioning plant is at end of life and could fail without notice. Were the pool to remain open, the air-conditioning system would require a significant and costly upgrade to remain compliant with Australian standards.
The Nous report acknowledges that the current situation “presents an increased staff safety risk in the event of emergency such as a fire or pool chemical spill”. It also says:
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 observation is further supported as the current pool does not meet the Australian Standard for hydrotherapy pools or the Australasian health facility guidelines for hydrotherapy pools.
In September this year, the hydrotherapy pool basement plant room was closed pending resolution of some urgent workplace health and safety issues that required remediation before maintenance access to the plant room was reinstated.
It is clear that the Canberra Hospital hydrotherapy pool is at the end of its life and needs to close. In a situation like this, the government has no choice but to accept the advice of infrastructure and management officials and senior medical professionals. The ACT government has continued to invest money in this ageing asset for several years. But the pool is no longer up to standard and it is not sustainable to maintain it into the future. As stated in the Nous report:
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