Public Works Committee: Flinders Medical Centre Upgrade and Expansion

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:10): I move:

That the 75^th report of the committee, titled Flinders Medical Centre Upgrade and Expansion, be noted.

The Department for Health and Wellbeing, or SA Health, propose to build a new seven-level acute services building, referred to colloquially as 'the tower' at the Flinders Medical Centre. This tower will house an additional 98 points of care of both overnight and day places, provide new surgical and intensive-care functions and consolidate the centre's ophthalmology service into a single tenancy, alongside the upgrading of several back of house and support functions.

At approximately 700 overnight beds the Flinders Medical Centre is the largest hospital providing services to the southern metropolitan area, with its emergency department being one of the two major trauma centres in our state. The Flinders Medical Centre offers an extensive range of acute inpatient, outpatient and allied health services. It is uniquely a whole-of-life hospital providing for specialist neonatal services through to palliative care. It lies within the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network and in partnership with higher education licensed training providers is a leading provider of research and teaching, offering a clinical environment for training in medical, nursing and allied health academic research.

Originally constructed in the mid-1970s the Flinders Medical Centre has undergone a series of expansions, redevelopments and upgrades over the years to reflect significant population growth and demand for clinical services in southern Adelaide. Capital developments in the last decade include: a new 70-bed rehabilitation aged and palliative care building; a new 30-bed older persons' mental health unit; a redeveloped neonatal unit; a new mental health short stay unit; expansion of the emergency department and of medical imaging services; and a new 20-bed adult inpatient ward.

Most infrastructure at the Flinders Medical Centre reflects older models of care and requires redevelopment and expansion to meet the needs of caring for a growing ageing population. Over the next 20 years within the catchment population of the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, there is a projected 11 per cent increase in population, which includes a 75 per cent growth in the 75-plus age group. Older demographics are the highest consumers of healthcare services and this local health network will have one of the oldest demographics in the nation.

The Southern Redevelopment scheme has been created to address the issues with rising demand for health care in South Australia, with the primary intent to increase hospital bed capacity for the communities of southern Adelaide and improve emergency department patient flows. Stage 1 of this redevelopment has an immediate focus on responding to an ageing asset base at Flinders to cater for this consumer growth.

Flinders Medical Centre is currently experiencing challenges for inpatient bed capacity and due to its age has the lowest number of single rooms amongst South Australia's major public hospitals for both medical and surgical specialties. It also requires additional operating theatre capacity due to a high utilisation of surgical functions for emergency surgery and to support elective surgery activity. Furthermore, the Flinders Medical Centre's ophthalmology service is decentralised across leased tenancies in the Flinders Private Hospital and the Mark Oliphant Building across South Road, which leads to workforce inefficiencies and disconnected services for consumers.

The Flinders Medical Centre upgrade and expansion project has been prepared to deal with these strategic drivers. The total investing budget is $405 million, with the main works expected to commence in September this year and expected completion in early 2028. The Flinders Medical Centre upgrade and expansion will include:

a new acute services building comprising seven levels, with horizontal transit between the new building and the existing hospital;

a new 18-treatment space medical day unit for patients undergoing day treatment, inclusive of two enclosed day beds and 16 open-bay recliners for a flexible range of treatments;

an expansion of the hospital's surgical and perioperative functions, with four new operating theatres and recovery bays;

a new dedicated location for ophthalmology services, with two dedicated ophthalmology operating theatres, paediatric and adult recovery bays, consult rooms, an imaging and photography room, laser and procedure rooms and three vision lanes;

a new satellite intensive and critical care unit;

two new adult inpatient units, each containing 20 single bedrooms, six double bedrooms, an allied health therapy space, patient lounges and a quiet area for consumers; and

upgrades for back-of-house and support services, including the mortuary, main kitchen, central sterile services department and allied health services.

This project will provide additional physical bed capacity at the Flinders Medical Centre across several acute services and improve access to health care in southern Adelaide, reflective of increasing demand for hospital services. It will further support the hospital's ability to manage bed and patient flows, and futureproof for pandemic resilience, as well as other health crises and critical care cases. Additionally, this project will increase the hospital's ability to accommodate the highest acuity trauma patients, alongside expanding surgical and perioperative functions, to support elective and emergency surgeries.

Project management will follow the best practice principles as advocated by the state government and construction industry authorities. Risk management will form an integral part of this process, identifying and assessing risk, and ensuring that appropriate management or mitigation measures are incorporated into the delivery of the project.

The Flinders Medical Centre is an operational hospital, and construction work will need to be coordinated carefully to minimise disruption to scheduled activities with critical works planning agreed well in advance, and temporary recovery spaces utilised to reduce disruption to routine surgical lists. To minimise any potential risks of COVID implications to the construction project, locally available materials will be sourced to minimise supply chain risks, and appropriate protective equipment may be required to reduce potential spread of infection.

Controlled conditions will be in place for the removal of hazardous materials from the FMC's aged assets, such as asbestos and lead-based paints. As the construction of the new tower will see major changes to the building's footprint, the hospital's northern entry will be used as an interim main entrance during this period, with adequate wayfinding and notification to consumers about accessing the hospital.

The project team have established formal processes to ensure that sustainable development principles have been incorporated and integrated into the design, construction and operation of the new tower. The design of the building's engineering services has been planned to allow for increased adaptability, with the latest equipment installed to reduce reliance on older technology with lower efficiency.

Other sustainable initiatives include increased access to natural light and external views for patients while mitigating solar glare, an increase in outdoor air provision in the air-conditioning system to improve indoor air quality, no use of natural gas in the building to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and a high-efficiency facade designed, to reduce heating, cooling and air-conditioning requirements. The Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Unit, has no record of Aboriginal sites within the proposed works' location. The site has no registered or identified non-Aboriginal heritage value.

Engagement and clinical consultation have been key themes of the broader Southern Redevelopment initiatives. Project reference groups have been purposefully designed and established across the initiatives, with a range of relevant clinical, corporate and consumer representatives.

The Southern Adelaide Local Health Network have established an Aboriginal stakeholder reference group to support the entirety of the Southern Redevelopment and provide advice and feedback on a range of matters. Industrial bodies have been engaged through the network's stakeholder engagement framework, with a monthly industrial liaison forum held with the relevant unions. The department states that consultation will continue throughout the final stages of design, with key stakeholders to remain informed of the works as they progress through construction and interservice readiness.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the Flinders Medical Centre upgrade and expansion project. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Tim Packer, Executive Director, Infrastructure, Department for Health and Wellbeing; John Harrison, Director, Building Projects, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; Dr Nadia Wise, Acting Clinical Director, Surgery and Perioperative Medicine, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network; and Jeremy Kelly, Principal Architect at Silver Thomas Hanley. I thank the witnesses for their time.

I also thank the member for Davenport for the written statement supporting this project in her electorate. Based upon the evidence considered, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

Motion carried.