newy.com.au – A major stage of cladding repairs at Calvary Mater Newcastle has been completed, six months after the NSW Government intervened to push ahead with long-delayed work at the Waratah hospital.
Replacement panels have now been installed across the Mater Institute building and the southern façade of South Block, which houses critical health services and clinical support functions.
The former exterior cladding did not comply with current construction standards and had been identified as contributing to recurring water leaks inside parts of the hospital. Further façade work is continuing across the campus.
The milestone follows years of complaints about leaks and building defects, which escalated when mould contamination forced the closure of a cancer ward. Patients were also moved from a haematology ward after maggots fell from an air-conditioning vent in January.
The growing concerns prompted a NSW parliamentary inquiry in February into the hospital’s management, maintenance and operational problems.
At the centre of the dispute is an unusually complex public-private partnership established in 2005. Under the 28-year agreement, NSW Health’s Health Administration Corporation contracted Novacare to finance and redevelop the hospital and provide facilities management and non-clinical services until November 2033.
Novacare subcontracted building maintenance to Honeywell, while Calvary Health Care operates the hospital’s public clinical services under a separate agreement with Hunter New England Local Health District.
Calvary owns the hospital campus but is not a party to the main PPP contract and cannot directly order Novacare or Honeywell to undertake structural repairs. The inquiry has heard the divided responsibilities have made it difficult to resolve maintenance problems and determine who should carry out and pay for major work.
The government stepped in after issuing multiple breach notices to Novacare and failing to reach an agreement through commercial negotiations. NSW Health engaged a building contractor directly, with replacement work beginning in March.
The inquiry has also examined Novacare’s proposal to transfer the private entities behind the PPP to the state for a nominal $2 as the company faced financial pressure and the possibility of voluntary administration.
While the proposal was widely characterised as an offer to sell the Mater back to the government, it did not involve Calvary selling the hospital or its land.
Novacare formally submitted the proposal on April 13, arguing a managed transfer would be preferable to the disruption of voluntary administration. The government rejected it on April 30 after deciding it had insufficient information and time to assess the liabilities, contractual disputes and financial risks it could inherit.
Health Minister Ryan Park said the completed cladding represented progress, but acknowledged substantial work remained.
“We still have some way to go, but the completion of this step of critical works will ensure the continued safety, functionality and reliability of Calvary Mater Newcastle,” Mr Park said.
The hospital remains operational while Health Infrastructure, hospital staff and contractors continue remediation work elsewhere across the campus.
The milestone was announced one day before a NSW parliamentary committee recommended terminating the hospital’s public-private partnership and bringing its ownership and management directly into NSW Health.
