newy.com.au – The NSW government will begin staged repairs at Calvary Mater Newcastle after an independent assessment identified water ingress, mould risks, ageing ventilation systems and other priority building defects.
NSW Health will establish a taskforce to oversee the work, drawing initial funding from the government’s $400 million statewide Health Asset and Equipment Renewal program.
However, the government has not disclosed how much will be spent at the Mater or set a timetable for the broader repair program. It is still negotiating with Novacare, the private consortium responsible for maintenance under the hospital’s public-private partnership, over its contribution to the cost.
The government said work would not be delayed while those negotiations continued.
The building assessment began in March and examined the hospital’s physical condition, maintenance practices and asset management. Detailed inspections included an audit of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
The resulting program will address water ingress and moisture problems in priority clinical and support areas, remediate mould in affected spaces and replace ventilation systems where they are contributing to damp conditions.
It will also cover priority safety and compliance defects, damaged or deteriorating sections of the building, deferred maintenance and the replacement of ageing infrastructure.
The work will be carried out in stages to keep the hospital operating and limit disruption to patients and staff. The taskforce will consult Calvary Health Care, hospital employees, unions and parties to the public-private partnership before finalising its plans.
Health Minister Ryan Park said responsibility for the maintenance problems rested with Novacare rather than Calvary, which operates the hospital.
“The maintenance issues at Mater are the responsibility of Novacare, not Calvary. On the ground Calvary is just as frustrated with Novacare as everyone else,” Mr Park said.
“The Novacare PPP is complex and Novacare repeatedly failed to rectify multiple maintenance issues, racking up millions in abatements.”
Abatements are contractual reductions imposed when required performance standards are not met.
Mr Park said the government had already intervened to undertake cleaning and replace non-compliant external cladding.
“Earlier this year, we formed the view that we could no longer wait for Novacare to act, and we stepped in to rectify the cladding and undertake cleaning – some of which has already been completed,” he said.
The cladding project is separate from the wider repair program. Remaining sections will be replaced in stages with materials meeting current safety and performance standards, with completion expected in mid-2027.
