Wet woes at hospital blamed on clogged sewage pipes

NST: SUNGAI PETANI: Clogged sewage pipes were responsible for the leakage blamed for flooding the cafeteria at the Sultan Abdul Halim hospital on Monday.
State Works and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Nawawi Ahmad said investigators from the Public Works Department and the hospital’s building contractor found sanitary pads and other trash trapped inside the sewage pipes, which ran above the cafeteria.
He said the affected pipes channelled sewage from 30 toilets on the upper floors of the hospital.
It is learnt that this was the third incident of leaking pipes at the hospital since it began operations in December last year.
Nawawi said the pipes leaked when they could not contain the pressure due to the excessive rubbish trapped inside it.
"The public is partly responsible for causing the pipes to leak. We urge the public not to throw non-perishable items into the toilet bowls.
"At the same time, the state government has directed the contractor to strengthen the pipes to prevent leakage," he said when visiting the hospital yesterday.
Also present were hospital director Dr Harif Fadzilah Hashim and a representative of TH Universal Builders Sdn Bhd, the contractor for the RM450 million hospital.
TH Universal Builders is a joint venture between a Tabung Haji subsidiary company and Kedah’s Bina Darulaman Bhd (BDB).
In the 2.30pm incident on Monday, the hospital’s cafeteria was forced to close for several hours due to the leaking pipes, which subsequently flooded the facility located on the ground floor.
Last month, more than 20 ceiling tiles collapsed at the male operating ward, the paediatric ward, the infant nutrition section of the infant care unit and the hospital’s lobby.
The aluminium ceiling frames had given way due to the weight of the ceiling.
Nawawi had also directed the hospital’s contractor to add more steel hooks to hold up the aluminium frames.