Sewage leaks into North Shore Hospital maternity ward after plumbing fault

A pipe blockage caused a sewage leak at North Shore Hospital's Maternity Ward. Photo / Dean Purcell.

• New mothers and babies at North Shore Hospital faced the stench of human waste due to a sewage leak.
• The leak affected part of the maternity ward but the ward remained partially open for post-natal care.
• Te Whatu Ora said safety was prioritised, with measures in place to manage the situation.

New mothers and babies at North Shore Hospital have endured the stench of human waste after a plumbing fault caused a sewage leak in the maternity ward.

Health NZ Te Whatu Ora said a pipe blockage caused a small sewage leak into an isolated area of the maternity ward.

“This was resolved quickly by the on-call duty manager and there was no impact to patient care,” Waitematā Group director of operations Brad Healey said.

A Te Whatu Ora Waitemata staff member who wished to remain anonymous told the Herald the leak sprung in the maternity ward during the third week of January.

While the woman was away from work when the problem first arose, she received accounts from her colleagues describing sewage leaking from toilets and shower pipes — with reports of “literal s**t flowing down the hallway”.

“They did not close the ward. They closed some beds, but not the whole ward,” she said.

“There were mums and babies having post-natal stays in a ward with part of it sectioned off for cleaning.”

She told the Herald there were normally 36 beds in the hospital’s maternity ward, and the sewage spill closed a section containing 10 beds.

She said a sewage leak in a ward with newborn babies and mothers who had just given birth was embarrassing and the area still smells like “poo and cleaning product”.

“It’s a health and safety issue to have sewage next to tiny, tiny babies and mothers who have just given birth. If it was another ward, they would have closed it,” she said.

“If I were a new mum in there, I would be furious. It’s disgusting.”

Healey said the safety of women and babies in the maternity ward remained their top priority.

“The situation was closely managed by our infection prevention control (IPC) team. Mitigations were in place to ensure women and whānau on the ward were unaffected.

“The IPC and operational teams deemed it safe for part of the ward to remain open, as the affected area was contained.

“There were plans in place to accommodate postnatal māmā at Waitakere Hospital’s maternity ward if and when required. The ward remains open, and all areas are now fully operational,” he said.

In August 2019, sewage leaking through a ceiling forced the closure of a room in Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department for a week.

A pipe blocked in the ceiling last month and sewer water leaked into one of two procedure rooms, a Counties Manukau District Health Board spokeswoman said at the time.

David Williams is an Auckland-based multimedia journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.

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