By Kate Aubusson
Patients were put at catastrophic risk after gas mains at a Sydney public hospital were targeted, and a private hospital also vandalised, in alleged acts of sabotage leading to the arrest of a woman on Tuesday.
A 42-year-old woman allegedly cut both water and gas mains and activated fire hoses at Kareena Private Hospital, Caringbah, in south-east Sydney about 12.20am on Tuesday, NSW Police said.
Health Minister Ryan Park at a press conference on Tuesday morning responding to questions about the alleged deliberate sabotage at Sutherland Hospital, Caringbah. Credit: Sam Mooy
Just over an hour later, the woman allegedly scaled a wall to access a restricted area at Sutherland Hospital and switched off the hospital’s gas main, Health Minister Ryan Park said.
“This is highly dangerous and could have been catastrophic,” Park said.
“The cause of the loss of gases is alleged to be deliberate sabotage,” he said. “You have people on medical gases who are receiving treatment who are very, very unwell.
“If someone is going to tamper with that, then the outcome could have been very, very serious.”
The hospital had to switch to portable oxygen and air as part of its contingency plans, and had restored the gas systems about two hours after the alleged vandalism.
“I want to assure the community there was no impact to patient care and that the system has returned to operating as per normal,” Park said.
A spokeswoman for Ramsay Healthcare said in a statement: “Overnight an individual attempted to tamper with mains water and non-medical gas supply to Kareena Private Hospital.”
“All services were quickly restored with minimal disruption and no impact to patient care. The hospital is operating as normal today,” the statement read.
Police arrested the woman just before 4am on Parkside Avenue, Miranda, for breach of bail and took her to Sutherland Police Station, where inquiries are ongoing, NSW Police said.
Park said he did not know whether the woman had any relation to staff or patients at the hospital.
Sutherland Hospital, with 360 beds, provides critical services, including an emergency department, cancer treatment, a birthing unit, and respiratory and geriatric care.
Park hailed its staff for the speed with which they recognised the issue and initiated measures to ensure continuity of care for patients.
“Access to gas systems in NSW public hospitals is restricted,” Park said, adding health authorities would review the incident to see what improvements can be implemented.
“If there [are] things we need to do to make it harder or more restrictive, then we will look at that,” he said.
Ramsay Healthcare, which operates Kareena Private Hospital, has been contacted for comment.
Health Services Union NSW secretary Gerard Hayes said threats facing hospital security were greater and more unpredictable than ever before, and resourcing was not keeping up.
“This incident is yet another warning that we need to properly invest in keeping our hospitals secure,” Hayes said. “We will, of course, wait for the investigation to unfold, but it’s clear that protecting critical infrastructure like medical gas systems must be a priority.”
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