Media Release                                                                              29 March 2018

Middlemore underfunded for infrastructure costs

NZNO remains concerned about the air quality at the mouldy buildings in Counties Manukau DHB (CMDHB) and has requested all data from the air monitoring currently being carried out.

NZNO Chief Executive Memo Musa says NZNO organiser Anna Majavu has met with the chief executive of CMDHB, Gloria Johnson, to discuss health risk issues of exposure to mould spores possible in many buildings including: Middlemore Hospital, the Otara Spinal Unit and Manukau Super Clinic and Surgery Centre.

“We are not convinced that the mould will remain contained within the walls. Should spores from the mould become airborne, these pose a risk to the health of anyone who inhales them, particularly patients who have compromised respiratory systems,” Memo Musa said.

“Our delegates have reported that walls are regularly damaged and simply patched over, and we believe there is a possibility that fungal spores are being released. This DHB along with many others have had to operate in an underfunded health system for a decade.

“NZNO is disheartened that the budget allocated to CMDHB for maintenance remains too small to cover even the basic infrastructure maintenance costs of buildings.

“We are now seeing the costs of underfunding of health. There has been far too much focus on balancing DHB books at the cost of maintaining and improving core hospital infrastructure. The potential on-going health and safety risks must be attended to with some urgency,” Memo Musa said.

ENDs.