Woman arrested after allegedly sabotaging gas supplies at two Sydney hospitals | Health

A woman has been arrested after allegedly sabotaging gas supplies at two Sydney hospitals.

Sutherland hospital in Sydney’s south experienced a loss of medical gas on Tuesday morning, requiring them to switch to portable oxygen and air as part of their contingency plan, New South Wales health minister Ryan Park said in a statement.

“It is claimed that the cause of the gas loss was deliberate sabotage,” Park said.

“A woman is currently in police custody,” the minister said. “With [allegedly] Doing this is beyond serious. “It could have been a disaster.”

NSW police said they had received reports of “alleged vandalism at two hospitals in Caringbah”. The other facility is understood to be a nearby private hospital.

Police alleged that a 42-year-old woman entered the premises of a hospital on Kareena Road around 12.20pm on Tuesday and “cut off both the water and gas mains before activating the fire hoses”.

_{Sign up: AÜ Breaking News email}

They also alleged that around 1.30am, “the woman entered the premises of another hospital on Kareena Road… and allegedly blocked the gas main”.

NSW police said he was arrested for breaching bail rules in Miranda at around 4am on Tuesday.

The health minister said the gas systems were repaired “within approximately two hours” by South East Sydney local health district and Sutherland hospital teams.

“I want to reassure the community that there has been no impact to patient care and the system has returned to operating normally,” Park said.

“Access to gas systems in NSW public hospitals is restricted. We will review the incident to see what improvements can be implemented.”

Park told reporters the woman allegedly climbed a wall at Sutherland hospital and gained access to a restricted area.