ANSWERS TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS - Answered by 19 June 2007
16 August 2005
137. Alice Springs Hospital – Repairs and Maintenance
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for HEALTH
In response to one of the many reports about the hospital falling into the hands of media and others, your CEO was reported as saying in the NT News on 7 February that some defects had been repaired but others had not.
1. It was known that the switchboard was faulty since April 2003 and, on 7 February, your CEO said that is ‘due to be redesigned’. Has that now been done and, if not, why not?
2. It was known since April 2003 that the hospital pager system was faulty and your CEO said on 7 February that it is ‘being reviewed’. Has that been done and has it been fixed?
3. Has the fire detection system been replaced?
4. What other repairs need to be done?
ANSWER
In response to Ms J Carney:
1. The problems with the switchboard have now been rectified.
2. The paging system’s intermittent faults have been rectified.
3. The present fire system at Alice Springs Hospital conforms to standards in place at the time it was installed During the rectification works, the fire detection system is being upgraded in the main ward block to include addressable sensors enabling fires to be located to specific points within wards.
4. Repairs and maintenance are ongoing features of the management of all public assets, including Alice Springs Hospital. These can range from broken power points through to major items of operating infrastructure.
In the context of the Alice Springs Hospital redevelopment, a comprehensive investigation has been undertaken into all aspects of the construction and installation of equipment, using the Clinical Management Ward as the test case. Similar issues have been identified across the hospital where redevelopment affected the layout of the building, although their extent cannot be determined until wards are empty and wall and ceiling panels removed.
Extensive remedial works are currently under way in the Clinical Management Ward to ensure the Building Code is met. This ward will then be used to decant other areas of the hospital over time to enable repairs to be made across the entire facility, in particular fixing the breaches in standards regarding fire penetration. Action has already been undertaken across the hospital to upgrade the airconditioning, hydraulics and hot water system where these items can be improved without decanting wards.
Fire safety is made up of a number of components, including fire compartmentalisation, early warning systems, sprinkler and hydrant systems, and evacuation procedures. The hospital is working closely with the NT Fire Service to ensure fire safety is maintained throughout the rectification process. Independent consultants, Warrington Fire Research, and the NT Fire Service have both stated that a reasonable level of fire safety is being provided in the interim while rectification works are completed.
138. Alice Springs Hospital – Clinical Management Wing Upgrade
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for HEALTH
When I had the briefing with your office in April, I was given a summary and in it there was the following reference:
Would you kindly advise of the status of the above work and when did staff first start to complain about the need for these problems and issues?
ANSWER
Following the redevelopment of Alice Springs Hospital, various problems were uncovered that included airconditioning, water and plumbing.
To rectify these problems, the Clinical Management Wing is being upgraded to full ICU standard that will allow patients to be decanted to this wing and allow rectification work to continue in the vacated wards.
It is expected that the Clinical Management Ward will be completed at the end of October 2005.
2 May 2006
249. Nursing Position Allocations/Administrative Jobs
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. How many equivalent full-time nursing positions are allocated to each Territory hospital?
2. Please list the number of nursing positions for each Territory hospital.
3. Please list the number of nurses actually occupying these nursing positions for each Territory hospital.
4. Please list the number of nurses employed according to job description - eg Midwives, RN and EN – for each Territory hospital.
5. Please list the number of nurses who are employed in administrative jobs for each Territory hospital.
6. Of the number of nurses who are actually employed in these positions according to job description (as in Questions 1 to 5), kindly list the number of nurses by categories of full-time, part-time, and casual for each Territory hospital.
7. How many nurses left nursing positions at Territory hospitals during the last 12 months? Of these nurses:
1. This table shows actual full-time equivalent hospital nursing staff on the DHCS payroll by each hospital as at the end of June 2006 (pay 26).
2. See above, question 1.
3. The number of nursing positions is greater than the number of FTE as there can be more than one nurse contributing to one FTE.
4. See table below.
5. Note that administrative positions include Nursing Director, Executive Director of Nursing, Quality Coordinator, Infection Control Nurse/ Officer.
6. See table below.
7.
(a) Commencements and separations of hospital nurses during calendar year 2006. Note these are head count, not FTE figures.
(b) The number of nurses who have left government supported clinics is not collected.
137. Alice Springs Hospital – Repairs and Maintenance
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for HEALTH
In response to one of the many reports about the hospital falling into the hands of media and others, your CEO was reported as saying in the NT News on 7 February that some defects had been repaired but others had not.
1. It was known that the switchboard was faulty since April 2003 and, on 7 February, your CEO said that is ‘due to be redesigned’. Has that now been done and, if not, why not?
2. It was known since April 2003 that the hospital pager system was faulty and your CEO said on 7 February that it is ‘being reviewed’. Has that been done and has it been fixed?
3. Has the fire detection system been replaced?
4. What other repairs need to be done?
ANSWER
In response to Ms J Carney:
1. The problems with the switchboard have now been rectified.
2. The paging system’s intermittent faults have been rectified.
3. The present fire system at Alice Springs Hospital conforms to standards in place at the time it was installed During the rectification works, the fire detection system is being upgraded in the main ward block to include addressable sensors enabling fires to be located to specific points within wards.
4. Repairs and maintenance are ongoing features of the management of all public assets, including Alice Springs Hospital. These can range from broken power points through to major items of operating infrastructure.
In the context of the Alice Springs Hospital redevelopment, a comprehensive investigation has been undertaken into all aspects of the construction and installation of equipment, using the Clinical Management Ward as the test case. Similar issues have been identified across the hospital where redevelopment affected the layout of the building, although their extent cannot be determined until wards are empty and wall and ceiling panels removed.
Extensive remedial works are currently under way in the Clinical Management Ward to ensure the Building Code is met. This ward will then be used to decant other areas of the hospital over time to enable repairs to be made across the entire facility, in particular fixing the breaches in standards regarding fire penetration. Action has already been undertaken across the hospital to upgrade the airconditioning, hydraulics and hot water system where these items can be improved without decanting wards.
Fire safety is made up of a number of components, including fire compartmentalisation, early warning systems, sprinkler and hydrant systems, and evacuation procedures. The hospital is working closely with the NT Fire Service to ensure fire safety is maintained throughout the rectification process. Independent consultants, Warrington Fire Research, and the NT Fire Service have both stated that a reasonable level of fire safety is being provided in the interim while rectification works are completed.
138. Alice Springs Hospital – Clinical Management Wing Upgrade
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for HEALTH
When I had the briefing with your office in April, I was given a summary and in it there was the following reference:
- Following complaints from staff, various other technical advice has been sought on the airconditioning, water, plumbing and medical gas systems. Design and documentation to upgrade the clinical management wing to full ICU standard has been undertaken so it can be used as the decant ward for all other wards during the rectification works, and tenders called for the work.
Would you kindly advise of the status of the above work and when did staff first start to complain about the need for these problems and issues?
ANSWER
Following the redevelopment of Alice Springs Hospital, various problems were uncovered that included airconditioning, water and plumbing.
To rectify these problems, the Clinical Management Wing is being upgraded to full ICU standard that will allow patients to be decanted to this wing and allow rectification work to continue in the vacated wards.
It is expected that the Clinical Management Ward will be completed at the end of October 2005.
2 May 2006
249. Nursing Position Allocations/Administrative Jobs
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. How many equivalent full-time nursing positions are allocated to each Territory hospital?
2. Please list the number of nursing positions for each Territory hospital.
3. Please list the number of nurses actually occupying these nursing positions for each Territory hospital.
4. Please list the number of nurses employed according to job description - eg Midwives, RN and EN – for each Territory hospital.
5. Please list the number of nurses who are employed in administrative jobs for each Territory hospital.
6. Of the number of nurses who are actually employed in these positions according to job description (as in Questions 1 to 5), kindly list the number of nurses by categories of full-time, part-time, and casual for each Territory hospital.
7. How many nurses left nursing positions at Territory hospitals during the last 12 months? Of these nurses:
- (a) please list the number of nurses who have left Territory Health for each Territory hospital; and
1. This table shows actual full-time equivalent hospital nursing staff on the DHCS payroll by each hospital as at the end of June 2006 (pay 26).
| Hospital | Nurse FTE as at June 2006 (Pay 26) |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 672.54 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 319.20 |
| Katherine District Hospital | 86.73 |
| Gove District Hospital | 49.79 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 23.60 |
2. See above, question 1.
| Hospital | Number of nurses |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 822 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 381 |
| Katherine District Hospital | 99 |
| Gove District Hospital | 57 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 25 |
3. The number of nursing positions is greater than the number of FTE as there can be more than one nurse contributing to one FTE.
| Hospital | Number of nurses |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 822 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 381 |
| Katherine District Hospital | 99 |
| Gove District Hospital | 57 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 25 |
4. See table below.
| HOSPITAL | Number of Nurses |
 | Mid-wivesRNsEns |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 6366198 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 2931735 |
| Katherine Hospital | 117612 |
| Gove District Hospital | 1142 4 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 218 5 |
5. Note that administrative positions include Nursing Director, Executive Director of Nursing, Quality Coordinator, Infection Control Nurse/ Officer.
| Hospital | Number of administrative nurses |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 8 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 5 |
| Katherine Hospital | 2 |
| Gove District Hospital | 3 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 1 |
6. See table below.
| HOSPITAL | Number of nurses |
| Full-timePart-timeCasual |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 38840133 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 23113515 |
| Katherine Hospital | 61326 |
| Gove District Hospital | 34185 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 2140 |
7.
(a) Commencements and separations of hospital nurses during calendar year 2006. Note these are head count, not FTE figures.
| Hospital | Separations | Commence-ment |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 274 | 339 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 212 | 279 |
| Katherine Hospital | 58 | 53 |
| Gove District Hospital | 25 | 35 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 28 | 36 |
(b) The number of nurses who have left government supported clinics is not collected.
The number of nurses who separated from the Community Health or Remote Health streams during the 2006 calendar year was 109. There were 119 commencements in the same period for these streams. Note these are head count, not FTE figures.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016