THE Garran Surge Centre was never “fit for purpose”, according to a review, with the Canberra Liberals accusing Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith of “blatant disregard” for patient and staff welfare.

The review – released on Monday – revealed issues with fire safety, appropriate distancing of beds, ventilation and, in some cases, the centre didn’t meet national health standards.

An October 2021 review recommended Canberra Health Services (CHS) spend $60,000 to $75,000 on improvements, including upgrading exhaust and air filtration, to make the facility viable as a covid ward.

CHS did not make the changes, resulting in the facility only being used for testing and triage.

Liberal health spokesperson Leanne Castley said Stephen-Smith must come clean on what she knew about the deficiencies, when she knew about them, and why she didn’t rectify them.

“The minister should have been aware of these deficiencies and made the recommended upgrades prior to omicron and the winter 2022 covid spike,” said Castley. “This shows a blatant disregard for patient and staff welfare.

“In July 2022, I questioned why this 50-bed facility was not being used as a pop-up emergency facility – the purpose the chief minister and health minister announced in April 2020.

“Health officials said this was due to a lack of available staff.

“So, the ACT Labor-Greens government spent $14 million on a facility that was actually unsuitable for treating covid patients, but Canberrans were told it was not being used because of staff shortages.

“It is completely unacceptable this government has been so non-transparent during a public health emergency.”

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