Black mould has been detected in four Auckland mental health units with weathertightness problems. The fungus could reach unsafe levels ‘at any moment’, the DHB has warned.
Routine testing is being carried out for stachybotrys, or black mould, in four buildings at the Mason Clinic, the regional forensic psychiatric service run by the Waitematā District Health Board (WDHB) in Point Chevalier, Auckland.
The DHB has downplayed potential health concerns, saying only very low levels of the fungus had been detected intermittently since 2018. It was not expected to have affected the health of service users or staff, a WDHB spokeswoman said in a statement.
However, documents obtained by Newsroom under the Official Information Act (OIA) suggest the risk could be greater than the DHB is willing to say publicly.
The four affected facilities — Rāta, Kahikatea, Kauri and Tōtara — had weathertightness and leaking issues, the WDHB said in the OIA response; they needed to be decommissioned “as soon as possible”.
The buildings, built in the 1990s, were “failing significantly” and exposing staff and service users to “significant risk of harm”. While repairs had helped, water getting inside the units had caused damage and compromised their integrity.
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“We are treating patients in buildings which have significant amounts of dangerous fungus, which could reach unsafe levels at any moment.”
The OIA response, an assessment of future building needs submitted by WDHB in late 2020, said testing was taking place every three months. Recent readings at the time the document was compiled showed fungus levels then were “safe”, however the DHB warned this might not continue as the buildings weren’t weathertight and were coming to the end of their life. Higher readings might require the “immediate decanting of one or more of the units.
“This creates an unacceptable risk to the health of patients, their whānau and staff.”
Forensic mental health services are for people who have committed an offence or service users who require a higher level of security. There were no alternative forensic facilities in the region, the WDHB said in the OIA documents. If fungus levels became unsafe, there might have to be a “forced transfer of patients at short notice”.
People would be sent back to prison, to a hospital, other mental health facilities or into the community. The WDHB did not respond to a question from Newsroom asking what planning had been done in the event it had to relocate service users.
A University of Otago, Wellington, academic Dr Caroline Shorter, an expert on the health impacts of mould exposure, said she was concerned people were working and being treated in mental health units with weathertightness and mould issues.
Exposure to leaks, moisture damage and mould had all been strongly associated with poor respiratory health outcomes, she said, including increased asthma symptoms, increased cough, colds, flu and shortness of breath.
Stachybotrys and some other moulds had the potential to produce mycotoxins that might have inflammatory effects, Shorter said. There was a lack of research on the long-term health effects of inhaled mycotoxins, so “we do not know if it is safe for people to be exposed to them, or what level, if any, might be safe”.
For the past week, Newsroom has been publishing the results of an investigation looking at the condition of mental health units around the country. Many are overcrowded and no longer fit for purpose. In the past five years, vulnerable service users have been treated in tired, run down buildings with reported issues including leaking, vermin and pest issues, and poor standards of ventilation, maintenance and cleanliness.
A WDHB spokeswoman said the DHB had become aware of weathertightness issues at the Mason Clinic in 2010. It started a remediation programme in 2011 and a number of buildings had already been replaced or refurbished. The remaining affected facilities had undergone temporary watertightness fixes in 2020 to allow for another five years of operation, the spokeswoman said.
According to documents obtained by Newsroom, new facilities and associated services to replace the Rāta, Kahikatea, Kauri and Tōtara buildings would cost between $150 million to $175m.
The WDHB did not respond to a question asking if this estimate was still accurate, but the spokeswoman said the DHB submitted a business case to the Capital Investment Committee in 2019 for Tranche 1A of the E Tū Wairua Hinengaro project, a planned new multi-storey inpatient facility. The Government approved $60m in funding. The WDHB submitted a second business case last year for Tranche 1B, the work needed to fully replace the affected buildings. Funding has yet to be approved.
“We are in planning and design phases for E Tū Wairua Hinengaro Tranche 1A and 1B,” the WDHB spokeswoman said.
“Once complete, these buildings will replace Rāta, Kauri, Tōtara and Kahikatea, at which point, all Mason Clinic facilities will have been fully upgraded or replaced.”
Stachybotrys was not uncommon in leaky buildings, the spokeswoman said, but its presence was concerning. The buildings originally found to have watertightness issues were regularly air-tested to ensure conditions were safe, she said. Levels of the fungus had required some areas to be sealed off on a “very small number of occasions'' for remediation. They were then retested to ensure they were safe.
Throughout the new build programme and remedial works, patient safety had been the WDHB’s top priority, the spokeswoman said.
“The overall situation is well-understood by staff and patients as a primary reason for the ongoing redevelopment of the Mason Clinic site – at no time have staff or patients been adversely affected.”
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This project was funded by Nōku te Ao Like Minds, with support from the Mental Health Foundation
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