Australia Weather News

An air-conditioning failure has left patients sweltering in a hospital ward on the Illawarra Coast during this month's heatwave.

Tanya Lockhart says she instantly noticed the "oppressive heat" when her elderly mother was transferred to the Shellharbour Hospital medical ward.

"You walk in and the heat just hits you," she said.

"I was a little bit horrified, there's a lot of patients on the ward, it's full."

The Illawarra Shoalhaven Health District said the air conditioning broke on Saturday, December 20, but Ms Lockhart said she was told by staff on the ward that it was broken on the day her mother arrived, December 10.

A member of the Nurses and Midwives Union, who works at the hospital and spoke to the ABC anonymously, said the heating and cooling in the ward and in other parts of the hospital have been faulty for years.

"There's a small little section where the aircon is not too bad, but in the rest of the ward we can't feel anything," she said.

"It was 39 one of the days a couple of weeks ago and that was terrible, that was really bad."

Temperatures in Shellharbour reached over 35 degrees on Friday, December 19 and peaked over 30 degrees through the weekend.

Ms Lockhart said her mother developed a heat rash as the temperatures climbed, and she was concerned about other patients on the ward.

"We're talking people in their 60s, 70s, 80s and above — people with dementia, with illnesses where they can't leave the bed themselves," she said.

"With them being unable to move, it's easy for sores and for heat to affect them."

Permanent fix delayed

In a statement, the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) said the air conditioning would be fixed in February.

It said a speciality part was needed to fix the system, but a temporary cooler unit and portable air conditioning units would be installed this week.

Pedestal fans and air purifiers have been used to cool the ward so far.

Ms Lockhart said the pedestal fans were only brought in at the weekend, well into last week's heatwave, and that portable units should have been installed much sooner.

"I think it's [been done] too late," she said.

"This has been an extended period, we're not talking days, we're talking weeks. It's ridiculous."

Nurses suffer

The nurse said the conditions were unacceptable for workers.

"It is very hard for us to work in those conditions, especially when you're showering people in tiny bathrooms with no fans," she said.

"We're sweating, we're coming out and taking a deep breath and going back in. We're struggling."

The ISLHD has apologised to patients and said the temporary cooler measures should return conditions to normal while they wait for a permanent fix.

"We are working to implement this as soon as possible over the next week," the statement said.

Ms Lockhart said a permanent improvement was needed.

"It is just ridiculous that you've got people in hot rooms in a hospital," she said.

"I'm shocked that we're leaving elderly sick people in that situation.

"It's really not good enough from NSW Health."