Aussie rail project could disrupt hospital operations, affect patient safety: hospitals

An upgrade to Melbourne's metro rail system will compromise the safety of hospital patients, according to a group of major hospitals.

The Royal Melbourne and Royal Women's Hospitals made a submission to a government committee, along with a host of other medical institutions, that the Melbourne Metro Rail project could jeopardize patients and damage sensitive equipment.

The submission claimed that the underground drilling for the nine-kilometer, 8.4 billion US dollar tunnel route could put the Royal Melbourne Hospital's older buildings at risk of collapsing.

"Level of noise and vibration during both the construction and operation of the Parkville station is detrimental to patents' health, wellbeing and recovery," the submission, published by News Limited on Monday on Monday, said.

"Poor air quality has the potential to adversely impact patient outcomes, which is a major issue in the Parkville precinct due to the number of health and education facilities treating patients with severely acute respiratory conditions."

"Sensitive equipment such as diagnostic imaging machines and surgical devices is compromised (affecting) the ability of major hospitals to deliver timely, safe and best practice care."

The submission further warned that stress to animals caused by the loud works would set back experiments being carried out by the facilities -- Melbourne's zoo is also located in Parkville -- and that the ground movements could jeopardize the security of biological agents stored in carefully controlled conditions.

Evan Tattersall, chief executive of the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, said that while the hospitals' concerns are valid, the authority would "definitely be able to manage this like they have all over the world."

"We know there is substantial work we'll need to do to manage these impacts and we've provided appropriately for that in the budget," Tattersall told the ABC on Monday.

"Exactly how we do it yet is to be worked through, but we know generally what we need to do and that's been accounted for."

An impact statement commissioned by the rail authority said that vibration levels would overwhelm MRI machines and that the cost of moving the equipment to protect it and hiring extra staff would be an extra 8 million U.S. dollars.

The Melbourne Metro Rail project involves the construction of nine-km of rail under Melbourne's CBD as well as five new underground train stations.

Works on the project are expected to begin in 2017 with construction expected to take at least nine years. Endit