A Hunter MP who spent 20 years building hospitals before life as a politician has demanded the state's Health Minister launch an independent investigation into the mould outbreak at the Calvary Mater Hospital.
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The hospital's air-conditioning ducts, including those in its cancer wards, have for more than 12 months been contaminated with a mould known to be deadly to immunocompromised patients.
A class action is under way, with two law firms calling for people who lost loved ones in the Calvary Mater Hospital's oncology wards between January 2024 and April 2025 to come forward.
Upper Hunter MP David Layzell denounced NSW Health Minister Ryan Park for ignoring calls to investigate from the community, who "need to have confidence when they go to the Mater, they leave healthier than they arrived".
"This is a very serious situation - he is the Health Minister whether he likes it or not, he needs to get involved," Mr Layzell said.
"We're talking about people's health for goodness sake. For elderly people, this could be a matter of life and death."
The mould - Aspergillus - is known to be life-threatening to immunocompromised patients and is linked to several respiratory diseases, including pneumonia.
A recent Bureau of Health Information study found the Mater had "higher than expected mortality" for pneumonia, despite a statewide decrease.
Mr Layzell said any investigation must be conducted outside the Hunter New England Health district, "so it's not compromised by the day-to-day pressure of operations".
"It's very embarrassing to people at Honeywell and the hospital, so it's better to be investigated by people who aren't compromised," Mr Layzell said.
"I would expect the minister to order an investigation out of the Health Department. We need to make sure from the public's point of view that the investigation is transparent.
"It took multiple failures to get to this point and that's what needs to be looked into."
Mr Park said he wanted to see "an urgent resolution" to the mould situation, and an independent inquiry wouldn't be helpful at the moment.
"At this point, my priority is getting an ongoing management plan in place and I don't believe an inquiry would speed this up," the Health Minister said.
The Newcastle Herald revealed the private company managing the hospital's maintenance, Honeywell, knew the air-conditioning ducts were riddled with mould in October 2024 but sat on the report for six months until the information was leaked to staff.
Before entering politics, Mr Layzell spent more than two decades in the construction industry as a service manager, overseeing subcontractors for hospital builds, including the $211-million redevelopment of Tamworth Hospital.
"In many ways, this is my bread and butter," Mr Layzell said.
"I worked on many hospitals and knowledge of air-conditioning systems was a big part of the job.
"We need to know what's causing this and where it's coming from, otherwise you're just spreading spores from the original source of the mould. Whether it's condensation, humidity or something else, there is obviously something causing this."
In its first statement addressing the issue since the Newcastle Herald broke the story in May, Honeywell said it was "not aware of any October 2024 report".
"In April 2025, via routine testing, we learned of increased levels of mould [in the oncology ward] and promptly notified the Health Administration Corporation (HAC) and NovaCare," a Honeywell spokesperson said.
"Honeywell has supported the hospital's implementation of comprehensive control measures. Honeywell remains committed to meeting all maintenance obligations in full compliance with Australian standards."
Mr Parker said the hospital had taken installed additional air filtration units and conducted deep cleans to minimise exposure while the appropriate next steps were determined.
"The (HNEH) District is engaging in further testing to ensure mitigation controls that have been deployed remain effective," Mr Parker said.
In June, SafeWork issued the hospital with an improvement notice due to risks of "slips, electric shock and inhalation of mould spores from rain water ingress and humidity".
The Herald revealed SafeWork inspected the hospital in April, but missed several issues, including leaks that caused internal flooding and forced chemotherapy treatments to be cancelled.
In August, photos were leaked of the hospital's portable water tanks - which were due to be replaced two years ago - showing they were severely corroded, filled with mould and without vermin control.
The hospital's growing list of maintenance-related issues have raised concerns about its management structure.
The Calvary Mater is managed under a public-private partnership (PPP) by a consortium called NovaCare, which is composed of four companies: Westpac Banking, Abigroup, Medirest and Honeywell, which handles the building's maintenance.
The Mater PPP has another eight years to run, ending in November 2033, and the NSW government is expected to hand over $60 million to NovaCare in that time.
Calvary Mater is one of the last PPPs in the state, alongside Orange Hospital, after the NSW government announced it would spend $190 million to buy back the Northern Beaches Hospital in October.
Jamieson Murphy
Whisper g'day mate to me at jamieson.murphy@newcastleherald.com.au
