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Arden’s electrical issues were known three years before shock hospital move
By Henrietta Cook, Rachel Eddie, Kieran Rooney and Aisha Dow
Health authorities knew in 2021 that electromagnetic waves from Metro Tunnel trains were a risk to Arden’s recently scrapped hospital towers but failed to put a dollar figure on resolving the issue, according to confidential state government documents.
Despite spending $10 million to plan the vision for redeveloping Parkville and Arden hospitals almost four years ago, the government says it only discovered a “couple of weeks ago” the significance of the interference that thrust a $6 billion, 12-year strategy into turmoil.
Arden Station under construction in October 2023.Credit: Jason South
Health Department documents reveal officials knew three years ago that electromagnetic interference from trains passing through the new Arden station in Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel project posed a risk to daily activities at the two proposed medical towers.
“[Electromagnetic interference] and noise issues may result in inefficiencies in operations, limitations on services that can be provided,” said the risk register obtained by The Age.
While the cost of fixing this issue was listed as “not quantified”, the register gave this risk the most favourable “effective” rating – which meant it could be resolved. Other risks identified had estimated the cost of impacts listed.
The government has always said it was aware of the issue but that it was believed to be manageable.
During the 2022 election campaign, then-premier Daniel Andrews declared the project had already been fully costed, and that planning work was well-progressed when he announced “the biggest hospital project in Australia’s history”.
But in a shock budget announcement on Tuesday, Treasurer Tim Pallas said further investigations found electromagnetic interference to hospital equipment was a “very substantial problem” that could not be resolved in a financially responsible way.
The government this week argued continuing with the project would have added years to the delivery timeline and cost hundreds of millions more. The Age has asked for the exact cost of mitigation and for a copy of the engineering report, which Premier Jacinta Allan on Wednesday said was handed to the government in “the last couple of weeks”.
Four senior planning and health sources – who did not want to be named because it could jeopardise their employment – suspected there were other factors at play, questioning the government’s argument that shielding the hospital from EMI made it unviable.
“It’s absolute rot that they are blaming EMI,” one health source said. “It’s absolute bunkum. This all comes down to them not wanting to spend the money building a new hospital.”
The government’s plan to instead build the new hospitals in Parkville for $2.3 billion, with additional floors likely to be added to the Royal Women’s Hospitals and the ageing Royal Melbourne Hospitals, was also criticised by a health planning source.
They said there was limited space in the precinct for construction work, it would significantly disrupt day-to-day operations of the hospitals, and relocating the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s helipad was problematic.
The proposal also throws into disarray a plan to redevelop the Royal Melbourne Hospital, they said.
It’s anticipated the hospital will have to accommodate an additional 60,000 patient admissions every year by 2036.
Tender documents for the Arden project from 2023 stated that the site of the Parkville hospitals had “no room to grow”.
It was previously envisaged the proposed Arden hospitals would accommodate some of these low-acuity patients while the Royal Melbourne Hospital was redeveloped.
Professor Sumeet Walia, an engineering expert from RMIT University, said hospitals around the world shielded themselves from the impacts of electromagnetic interference and vibrations using large sheets of copper and other metals that line walls.
This is what was put in place at existing hospitals in Parkville, to protect them from electromagnetic interference from the suburb’s nearby Metro Tunnel rail station.
Some equipment can also be placed in what is known as a Faraday cage, a metal enclosure that protects its contents from external electric fields.
“EMI is like noise to this medical imaging equipment,” Walia said. “It interrupts the signal that is being used to generate that image… so it can result in really bad quality images… which can result in sort of things like misdiagnosis.”
He said shielding could cost thousands of dollars per square metre.
The government in 2020 first announced $10 million in planning work to rebuild the hospitals in the new Arden suburb.
Responses provided to parliamentary estimates state this planning work was not officially completed until June 2023, after the project had been announced.
An artist’s impression of Arden Station.Credit: Department of Transport
“This is fully costed, fully funded,” Andrews said, announcing details of the major election commitment in October 2022. “There’s been substantial planning money already spent.“
Pallas on Thursday said the government had indicated at the time of the Arden hospital precinct announcement that engineering work was still to be done.
Victoria has only ever budgeted $2.3 billion for the first stage of the project. Construction was due to begin next year and about a dozen contracts have already been advertised.
Allan on Wednesday said electromagnetic interference was always a known issue for both stations.
“But as we’ve gone in and undertaken further investigation, our expert engineers have gone in and done further site examinations, the building envelope that was previously thought to be available at Arden has been reduced as a consequence of the EMI at that site,” she said.
The Arden precinct structure plan, designed in 2022, had the objective of ensuring the development “is not unduly impacted by noise, vibration and electromagnetic interference”.
A Victorian government spokeswoman said the decision would free up space to build more homes in Arden, including specifically for healthcare workers. The government has not said how many extra homes could be constructed.
“We are delivering the same world-class care sooner, with less disruption. The only change is the location of where it will be delivered,” the spokeswoman said.
“Consolidating this project in Parkville ensures Victorians receive the same standard of care – sooner, and with less disruption once the new hospital buildings open.”
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