❓ Hon Anthony Spagnolo asks the Minister for Health about water testing in public hospitals, specifically regarding reporting frameworks for Legionella, lead, and other pathogens. The Minister confirms a new mandatory reporting requirement to the Chief Health Officer for exceedances of water quality guidelines.
AnsweredQoN 764Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Hospitals—Water Testing
764. Hon Anthony Spagnolo to the parliamentary
secretary representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to water
testing in our public hospitals.
(1) On what date did the minister issue the
direction to the Director General of the Department of Health for the new
reporting framework?
(2) Will the minister table the direction to the
Director General of the Department of Health that the minister issued regarding Legionella , lead and other pathogen testing
results?
(3) What other pathogens are required to be
reported on?
(4) Since the date of the direction, has the
minister been informed of any exceedences at any public hospitals?
(5) If yes to (4), will the minister please
provide a table of those incidents?
764. Hon Anthony Spagnolo to the parliamentary
secretary representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to water
testing in our public hospitals.
(1) On what date did the minister issue the
direction to the Director General of the Department of Health for the new
reporting framework?
(2) Will the minister table the direction to the
Director General of the Department of Health that the minister issued regarding Legionella , lead and other pathogen testing
results?
(3) What other pathogens are required to be
reported on?
(4) Since the date of the direction, has the
minister been informed of any exceedences at any public hospitals?
(5) If yes to (4), will the minister please
provide a table of those incidents?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following answer has
been provided by the Minister for Health.
(1)–(5) The minister has issued a
direction to the Director General of the Department of Health to implement a mandatory
requirement for all health service providers to regularly report the results of
their water-testing regimes to the Chief Health Officer (CHO). The Chief Health
Officer will be notified within 24 hours when an exceedence of the Australian
Drinking Water Guidelines is detected and of actions taken and planned to
address the risk and remedy the exceedence. The CHO will report any exceedence
that poses a risk to patients, staff or visitors to the minister.
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following answer has
been provided by the Minister for Health.
(1)–(5) The minister has issued a
direction to the Director General of the Department of Health to implement a mandatory
requirement for all health service providers to regularly report the results of
their water-testing regimes to the Chief Health Officer (CHO). The Chief Health
Officer will be notified within 24 hours when an exceedence of the Australian
Drinking Water Guidelines is detected and of actions taken and planned to
address the risk and remedy the exceedence. The CHO will report any exceedence
that poses a risk to patients, staff or visitors to the minister.
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