FLINDERS MEDICAL CENTRE

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:23): My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Will the minister inform the house how the redevelopment works at the Flinders Medical Centre are progressing?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts) (14:23): I thank the member for Mawson for his question, and I acknowledge his very strong interest in health issues, particularly relating to the southern suburbs. I am very pleased to be able to advise the house that the final stage of the FMC emergency department redevelopment is now complete.

Work has finished on the new triage and waiting areas—the final stage of the upgrade project. The new areas, which came into operation on Tuesday of this week, now give patients more privacy, and there are dedicated areas for ambulance arrivals and patients arriving by other means.

The ED upgrade has been ongoing for some two years now, and I would like to thank patients and staff of the emergency department and the ambulance service as well for their patience while the department has been rebuilt. I said at the time that I announced this redevelopment that it would cause some problems over the course of the construction works, and it certainly did. They worked through it I think magnificently. Importantly, the work has now been completed and well ahead of the busy winter period.

The new emergency department has an extra 21 cubicles and can cater for an extra 10,000 patients a year. Every year, more than 60,000 people are treated in the ED, including around 12,000 children, so it is really pleasing that there is a new paediatrics unit which has been specifically designed for children—not just allocated for them, but designed for them—which includes a beautiful giant fish tank to complement the unit's ocean theme, so there is something to divert children when they are there.

There are also separate areas for adults who are likely to be admitted to the hospital, those likely to be discharged and for those who need urgent attention. So, this approach will allow us to move patients through the system more quickly.

A canopy is being added to the outside to provide shelter and additional comfort for people arriving by helicopter, ambulance or walking into the emergency department. For those who know the Flinders emergency department, that area has not been ideal. This will make it a lot better and that work is due for completion in May.

Work is also finishing on the final four operating theatres and two completely fitted out theatres for future expansion, bringing the total number of operating theatres at Flinders to 12. There are 16,000 operations performed annually and the extra capacity will allow the hospital to meet growing elective and emergency service demand as well.

The completion of these works in May will also signal the end of the $163 million redevelopment of the hospital. This project has provided an acute medical unit, a new south wing building with birthing, an assessment suite and a maternity and gynaecology ward, an extra eight beds in the expanded intensive and critical care unit and a relocated new 20-bed cardiac care unit. I would like to thank all of the people involved in this project, many of them still working at the hospital on site, for the great work they have done and, once again, thank everybody for their patience during this construction stage.