St John WA ambulance bypass in place at Peel Health Campus after mould discovered

Patients are being diverted from Peel Health Campus south of Perth, following the discovery of mould in its air conditioning system.

The ABC understands ambulances have also been bypassed away from the hospital since Friday evening, preventing new patients from presenting at the hospital’s emergency department.

St John Ambulance WA said it was actively increasing resources to support the transfer of 30 to 40 patients from Peel Health Campus to alternative facilities. 

This would include the deployment of at least one multi-patient vehicle and several ambulances to the hospital around midday. 

Ramsay Health Care, which is responsible for the management of Peel Health Campus, has not confirmed the extent of the mould impact, but a spokesperson at the facility says investigations are continuing. 

The South Metropolitan Health Service said it was aware of the situation and assisting with some patient transfers to other hospitals in its network as required. 

It comes after another private hospital in metropolitan Perth was forced to suspend its elective surgeries for a week in similar circumstances earlier this year. 

Mount Hospital took the precautionary measure in February following the discovery of black mould in its air conditioning system, which required patients to be transferred from three wards, including its intensive care unit.

In a statement at the time, the hospital said that while the black mould presented a relatively low risk to healthy individuals, the risk to immunocompromised patients could be elevated.