Sydney's RPA hospital issues alert to women who gave birth between August 2013 and January 2015 after refrigerator malfunction

Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is calling on women who gave birth at the hospital between August 13 and this month to come forward after a faulty fridge may have rendered vaccines ineffective.

After discovering the malfunctioning fridge, hospital staff believe the vaccines may have been kept in temperatures “outside the optimal range”, an RPA spokeswoman said.

“We cannot absolutely guarantee their effectiveness,” RPA’s general manager Deborah Willcox said.

The hospital is now trying to contact 570 women, but Ms Willcox said it was purely a precaution measure.

The women would have had their babies at the hospital between August 2013 and January this year.

Ms Willcox said there was no risk associated with the lower storage temperature.

RPA has set up a free clinic to provide re-vaccination.

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the incident was "disappointing".

"I have asked the NSW Ministry of Health to work with Local Health Districts across the state to ensure these errors are not occurring at other public hospitals," she said.

"Initial advice I have received shows the incident is limited to one ward at RPA (and) a full investigation is underway.

The hospital has set up a hotline for concerned mothers: 1800 300 333.