A SENIOR nurse was undergoing emergency surgery last night after slipping in a puddle caused by a leaking vent at the decaying Hornsby hospital.

Her fall came two months after orders were given to hide the crumbling, water-damaged ceiling by painting over it.

Beware...bins collect rainwater in the corridor at Hornsby hospital where Andrea Walters, inset, fell and shattered her right arm. Credit:Ben Rushton

Last year angry doctors called the rundown hospital ''offensive and mediaeval'', and complained of possum urine on the walls, dangerous cables across floors, and ceilings collapsing from rain damage.

They have run a campaign to have the hospital rebuilt and say they were stunned to see a tradesman painting over the water damage in December.