ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:23): My question is again to the Minister for Health. How long has the government had the tender documents for the proposed rail yards hospital and when will the successful tenderers be announced?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:24): I am not aware of what the spokesperson for health means when he refers to the railways hospital. We do not have a railways hospital planned, we do not have a railways hospital in our drawing board. We do have a proposition for a brand new Royal Adelaide Hospital—a world-class facility with 800 single bedrooms to provide the best possible care for the patients of our state, but we do not have a railway hospital. I am not sure what a railway hospital would do. It would presumably have sleepers; other hospitals have sleepers as well.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Yes, that is right. Hospitals sometimes have sleepers, but I can tell you people are more likely to sleep when they are in single rooms, so maybe that is what the member means. We have been through a process of evaluating the tenders. The proposition is that we plan to reach a decision some time in October or November about which of the two consortia should be the preferred tenderer and then we would hope to have finalisation in the first quarter of next year.