The plans for the Marshall Liberal Government’s landmark multi-million-dollar, job boosting, expansion to the Flinders Medical Centre have been revealed today.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade said the $8.5 million capital upgrade to the FMC Emergency Department is a key part of the Marshall Liberal Government’s $86 million Southern Health Expansion Plan.
Minister Wade said the expansion comes amidst the beginning of demolition works for another part of the historic Southern Adelaide health project – Stage 2 at the Repat – which is creating more than 400 local jobs during construction.
“The Marshall Liberal Government made a commitment to deliver better health services, closer to home for South Australians and the expansion of the Flinders Medical Centre ED is helping us deliver on that promise,” Minister Wade said.
“The expansion forms part of a billion-dollar infrastructure build which is upgrading emergency departments at every major metro hospital, except the RAH, to ease pressure on health services throughout the system.
“We know Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) has the busiest ED in the state and we are committed to ensuring the hospital is equipped to meet growing demand both now and into the future.”
Minister Wade said that as part of the expansion, emergency capacity will increase by up to 30 treatment spaces which will help patients in Adelaide’s south continue to access the care they need, closer to home.
“Today is an exciting day as for the first time, the new designs of the ED have been unveiled and we are one step closer to delivering the expanded ED.”
Southern Adelaide Local Health Network Chief Operating Officer, David Morris, said the increased capacity within the ED will ensure doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals have more spaces to treat patients faster.
“We know that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our Emergency Department over the past few months, so the expansion will improve patient access across our southern health services and better prepare for events such as the pandemic,” Mr Morris said.
“The refreshed ED space will include additional treatment bays, resus bay and an expansion of the short stay unit which will significantly help to boost capacity across FMC.
“It will also include a complete refurbishment of the Paediatric ED with better separation from the adult treatment areas, allowing for additional privacy for families when visiting the ED.
“This is an exciting time for health in the south as we work extremely hard to continue the delivery of high-quality care to our patients in a modern environment.”
The Flinders Medical Centre ED will remain operational while work is underway, with plans to minimise interruptions to service delivery in place.
Works will commence in November and are expected to be completed mid-to-late 2021.
The works at the Repat will make way for the Town Square with the demolition of 13 decommissioned buildings and supporting infrastructure including the old kitchen, dining room, medical record storage, and various other store and plant rooms.
The soon-to-be-built Town Square will feature a rehabilitation and wheelchair sports gymnasium, community hub, café and open outdoor space that includes landscaped gardens and a playground.
