{"id":25609,"date":"2026-02-27T04:57:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T04:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=25609"},"modified":"2026-02-27T04:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T04:57:12","slug":"nsw-government-denies-covering-up-deadly-fungal-outbreak-at-major-hospital-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=25609","title":{"rendered":"NSW government denies \u2018covering up\u2019 deadly fungal outbreak at major hospital | Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The New South Wales<\/a> health minister has denied \u201ccovering up\u201d a deadly fungal outbreak at one of Australia\u2019s largest hospitals, saying it was not publicised to avoid \u201cunnecessarily scaring people\u201d.<\/p>\n

The cluster of infections caused by aspergillus, a common mould, killed two patients and left four others unwell in the Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) hospital\u2019s transplant unit in late 2025.<\/p>\n

The opposition accused the government of a \u201ccover-up\u201d after it publicly revealed the outbreak at the inner-Sydney hospital for the first time on Wednesday, after being forced to share documents under parliamentary order.<\/p>\n

The health minister, Ryan Park, on Friday said NSW Health<\/a> had prioritised informing patients and families of the outbreak.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to strike a balance between not unnecessarily scaring people,\u201d Park told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is in no way a sense of cover-up \u2026 we were telling hundreds of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Patients in RPA\u2019s transplant unit began battling infections from aspergillus in October. One patient died on 5 November and another on 19 November, with the aspergillus infection judged the most likely cause of death.<\/p>\n

The hospital investigated issues itself, checking for connections between infected patients and installing additional air filters, then raised the alarm in December, the chief executive of the Sydney Local Health district (SLHD), Deb Willcox, told reporters.<\/p>\n

On 24 December, the health minister\u2019s office was notified and NSW Health convened a panel of experts chaired by the state\u2019s chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, Park said.<\/p>\n

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That panel guided the health response and encouraged the government to tell patients, families, visitors and staff, rather than the general public, Park said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can see how people can look back and say, \u2018well, you should have just told everybody\u2019 \u2013 well, an expert panel said that this is what we should be doing in terms of information,\u201d Park said.<\/p>\n

Sarah Mitchell, the NSW shadow minister for health, on Friday said Chris Minns\u2019s government should have disclosed the \u201cshocking\u201d revelations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Minns Labor government has covered this up for the past three months,\u201d Mitchell said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe staff, patients and families of those who lost their lives deserve transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fungal spores are commonly found in soil, dust and damp environments but pose significant health risks for immunocompromised patients, such as those undergoing organ transplant procedures.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>The emergency entrance of Royal Prince Alfred hospital in Sydney.<\/span> Photograph: Jenny Evans\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RPA has been undergoing a $940m redevelopment project since 2023 and the construction work is believed to have stirred up aspergillus, resulting in the six infections, Park said.<\/p>\n

The hospital closed its transplant unit and moved its patients to another ward in December as the construction works paused, Willcox said. The unit was deep cleaned and its ceiling was resealed and air filters were cleaned, reopening on 9 February.<\/p>\n

Chant said construction was a known risk factor in hospitals but air monitoring had not been routinely used, which she attributed to a gap in the guidelines on what to do when there were rising cases of fungal infections among transplant patients.<\/p>\n

She said the department would issue new advice on managing rising cases of infections among transplant patients after an expert panel meeting next week.<\/p>\n

A seventh patient also died of a fungal infection but a doctor had judged their death was not related to the outbreak, Chant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year, RPA would have one or two cases of fungal infections in its patients,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difficulty is \u2026 finding the ones that were just unrelated to anything we could have controlled versus ones where we can actually take that action.\u201d<\/p>\n

The RPA cluster was included among a trove of documents revealing widespread mould concerns at NSW hospitals.<\/p>\n

Park acknowledged mould would regularly arise across NSW Health buildings, adding that mould on hospital surfaces would not necessarily harm patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is mould that we try and get to as quickly as we can and rectify it, but that\u2019s the facts when you\u2019ve got over 4,000 odd buildings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n