Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital: Maggot discovery in air conditioning forces patients to be relocated
A New South Wales hospital has been forced to temporarily shut down a ward after maggots were discovered in a patient’s room.
The incident occurred on Tuesday at the Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle, where the pests reportedly fell from an air conditioning vent onto the floor of a haematology ward room.
Patients from the affected four-bed room were immediately relocated, and the area was sealed off for urgent cleaning and pest control.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Calvary Mater Newcastle hospital management has taken steps within our control to ensure patient and staff safety by temporarily closing a ward that accommodates our haematology patients to enable urgent pest management,” a Calvary spokesperson told The Nightly.
“Due to the complex needs of the affected patient cohort and the required expertise of our clinical and nursing staff, the patients have been relocated to the general medicine ward, and those patients relocated to other facilities in the region.”
The patients’ movements prompted the cancellation of all elective surgeries on Tuesday and led to the transfer of 15 general medicine patients to private hospitals in the area.
“These are not minor disruptions with direct and distressing impacts on patients and their families, and our hospital staff,” the statement added.
Calvary said it remains “frustrated by the ongoing maintenance issues” managed under a public-private partnership between Hunter New England Local Health District and NovaCare, overseen by NSW Health.
Health Minister Ryan Park said while removing the patients from the ward was a short-term solution, it was not a “satisfactory outcome”.
“Those patients have been moved to other parts of the hospital. Of course, that’s not a satisfactory outcome from my perspective,” he told the ABC.
“We’ve been able to resolve it in the short-term, but we need a long-term fix going forward.”
Mr Park said he will get a full in report into the issue and has already spoken to the hospital secretary to get the problem fixed “as quickly as possible”.
