Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital: Water tests reveal bacteria that causes respiratory infection found 59 times

Vulnerable patients were unknowingly put at risk of contracting potentially deadly legionnaires’ disease at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital through contaminated water. Testing results of the hospital’s water obtained by The West Australian show health authorities know that legionella bacteria, which causes the serious pneumonia-like respiratory infection, has been found at unacceptable levels almost 60 times in the past two years. The damning results come after a special investigation by The West revealed on Tuesday the hospital was plagued with maintenance issues, and a litany of work orders which reported human excrement leaking through the intensive care unit, and “radioactive water” seeping into a sub-basement. The Cook Government has been on the defence — denying the radiation reports and blaming the sewage incident on a blocked pipe. More than 1000 work orders have inundated maintenance crews at the hospital between January 2023 and June 2025, the documents show. According to the water testing results, the hospital’s own guidelines state any legionella result of 10 colony forming units per millilitre (CFU/mL) or higher requires remedial action. In May last year, a sample taken from a scrub sink in the hospital’s neurological intervention and imaging service returned a reading of 5200CFU/mL, hundreds of times above the acceptable level. Just a month before, a reading of 2500CFU/mL was detected in a basin in another part of the hospital. Concerning levels have been found in bathroom basins and showers, in patient areas of an acute medical ward, in the emergency department, as well as a kitchen tap in the Youth Cancer Centre. Water testing has also returned 15 positive results for pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria which can cause infections in the blood, lungs and urinary tract. It’s a common cause of hospital-acquired infections, and is resistant to many antibiotics. Vulnerable patients on ventilators — such as those in the respiratory ward where the bacteria was detected several times — are at a higher risk of infection. Authorities were still trying to tackle the contamination problem with several sites under remediation in May. Contamination was being managed in rooms on a neurosurgery ward, a dialysis ward and an acute medical and surgical ward. A maintenance contractor at SCGH, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, said the water quality concerns were well known to upper management. “The issue with the hospital is it’s old and the plumbing wasn’t built to the best standard. You get ‘dead legs’ and areas where water doesn’t flow as well,” the worker said. “When you don’t have the best flow you end up with what we call a biofilm which grows in the corners of the pipes and that provides a safe place for bacteria like legionella to grow. “I would say that’s why there are consistent readings (across the hospital) because the legionella is further up in the pipework growing and that is a difficult and expensive issue to fix.” It’s not the first time the ageing hospital has had problems with the bacteria. In 2021, The West Australian revealed a patient who died in palliative care had been infected with legionella. An autopsy and swab testing of 57-year-old Guyren Mayne found he had the bacteria in his lungs when he passed away in October of that year. North Metropolitan Health Service didn’t tell Mr Mayne’s family of the positive result until months later. In a follow-up letter in April 2022, executive director Theresa Marshall told the family a panel had reviewed his death including his legionella infection. “The panel agreed that, given Guy’s length of admission, it was possible that the exposure to legionella pneumophila originated from the hospital,” Dr Marshall said. “Immediately following the notification of legionella pneumophila an incident management team was urgently convened, and actions were undertaken to mitigate the risks.” “All water outlets in the ward were tested for legionella pneumophila. The rooms in which legionella pneumophila was identified were immediately closed. Positive outlets underwent immediate remediation including thermal flushing.” SCGH recorded another patient death from legionnaires’ in 2020, with health bosses admitting internally the bacterial infection was “likely” contracted at the hospital. The latest trove of documents from between January 2023 and May 2025 also revealed a potentially deadly amoeba, of which there are no safe levels, was found in eight water samples. It was detected in a shower in the emergency department in May 2024, but it took more than two months to rectify and close the job. Another shower in one of the male bathrooms near hospital operating theatres detected the presence of amoeba, while the remaining results were in showers at the hospital’s cancer centre. Routine testing of heterotrophic plate count, which measures overall water quality, has returned 127 high readings between April 2023 and May this year. Shadow health minister Libby Mettam said more should have been done to prevent legionella outbreaks at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. “Previous failed health ministers Roger Cook and Amber-Jade Sanderson gave assurances that work had been undertaken to address the legionella issue,” she said. “Here we are three years later learning that not only has there been 59 water samples taken where the detection of legionella was considered above a minimum benchmark, but two of those elevated readings are 250 and 500 times higher than the acceptable benchmark.” The Opposition said contaminated water was just another example of the State’s worsening health crisis. “I urge the Premier and whichever Health Minister is responsible to now step up and commit to fix this appalling situation. No more excuses, no more simply waving the evidence away,” Ms Mettam said. “This is not a world-class system that Premier Cook claims. It is an embarrassment. He needs to explain how he will fix a decaying Charlies and ensure the safety of patients and hospital workers.” Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey was asked whether he thought the water testing results at the hospital were acceptable, and if patients could have confidence that the facility was safe. In a statement, he said the hospital undertook “a large amount” of sampling and maintenance. “Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital has robust water quality testing in place. If a pathogen is detected, a rapid response is initiated,” he said. A North Metropolitan Health Service spokesperson said its “highest priority” was the safety of patients and staff. “No patient has acquired legionnaires’ at the hospital since 2021 when we implemented new water quality management practices,” the spokesperson said. “We take water safety management extremely seriously and follow strict policies set out by the World Health Organisation. Protocols at the hospital, include regular water testing, flushing, dosing of water and changing of shower heads and hosing. “SCGH has robust systems in place to measure water quality and detect legionella bacteria early. Should a pathogen be detected a rapid response is initiated.” The health service did not deny the 59 positive legionella samples.