Public Works Committee: SA Ambulance New Headquarters and Adelaide Ambulance Station

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:47): I move:

That the 73^rd report of the committee, entitled SA Ambulance Service New Headquarters and Adelaide Ambulance Station, be noted.

The Department for Health and Wellbeing, or SA Health, proposes to construct new headquarters for the South Australian Ambulance Service and an Adelaide ambulance station at Mile End South. This will serve as a new emergency operation centre and state health coordination centre, providing accommodation for 000 call takers, dispatchers, ambulance crews and other essential staff, and garaging for South Australian Ambulance Service vehicles.

The South Australian Ambulance Service, known as SAAS, is the state's provider of emergency ambulance transport, clinical care and patient transport services. It operates 119 ambulance stations across South Australia, and is one of three emergency operation centres that receive 000 calls and dispatch emergency services, alongside South Australia Police, the Metropolitan Fire Service, and the State Emergency Service.

The SAAS emergency operation centre is a critical part of ambulance operations, as it is the only facility that can provide effective call receipt and dispatch for medical emergencies across the state. This requires that the new centre must be designed as importance level 4, and built to deliver continuous, uninterrupted operation.

In 2023, the emergency operations centre received over 314,000 calls to 000 and processed over 62,000 non-emergency calls. This was an increase of 000 calls of approximately 8 per cent since 2018. The new emergency operations centre building is planned to accommodate this increasing call volume for the future.

At the 2022 state election the government pledged to improve the infrastructure of the South Australian Ambulance Service. An amount of $120 million was committed to constructing a new headquarters for the service, as well as an Adelaide ambulance station. This commitment is to provide a significant expansion of service delivery capabilities and capacity for SAAS to manage emergency responses across metropolitan Adelaide area and surrounding regions.

This is in addition to a $70 million commitment to build four new ambulance stations, alongside the rebuilding of four existing stations in high priority areas, including the purchase of 36 new vehicles and the recruitment of 350 additional staff across the state.

The new headquarters will accommodate SAAS's core emergency response functions, including 000 and non-urgent call-taking and primary triage; emergency and non-emergency dispatch; secondary triage; and clinical escalation. Additionally, it will be responsible for the coordination of the SAAS MedSTAR emergency medical retrieval service, which is based at Adelaide Airport.

The new facility will also accommodate core functions of the State Health Coordination Centre, such as overseeing patient flow across the system, 24/7 system observation and monitoring, and daily system learnings and insights. The State Health Coordination Centre acts as a central and integrated coordination hub for the state's entire health system, working with system partners to collate data and provide real-time visibility of patient needs from community, emergency departments, hospital wards and subacute facilities across most metropolitan and regional areas. A total of 107 workstations will be built in the new facility to service these functions.

Additionally, the site will feature a new central-based ambulance station, as previous reviews have highlighted the demand in and around the Adelaide CBD. This will include a main garage for seven ambulances and two light fleet vehicles, a training room for 25 persons, crew restrooms, and ancillary support accommodation for staff.

The new facility will be located at Mile End South between Richmond Road and Birmingham Street, approximately 10 minutes' drive from the Adelaide city centre. Ambulances, light vehicles and delivery trucks will enter via a crossover to the north-east of the site, and this will also serve as the light vehicle and delivery truck exit. Ambulances will exit via a driveway to the south-west of the site, directly onto Richmond Road.

This project will provide modern fit-for-purpose facilities for an expanding workforce to meet operational needs and enable appropriate emergency services provision to the surrounding communities. This aligns with the intent of the state government's election commitment to improve infrastructure, increase staffing, and provide additional resources for SAAS. The capital cost is $120 million. Site preparation has commenced and the project is expected to be completed in December 2025. Upon completion, the Ashford Ambulance Station currently located on Alexander Avenue will be decommissioned and the crews relocated to this new Adelaide ambulance station.

The expected outcomes of the project are support for the ability to respond to the annual increase in ambulance emergency calls; efficiencies in emergency operations centre workflows and the ability for teams to work together in a large fit-for-purpose open-plan operational floor; construction of the building to ensure delivery of critical uninterrupted 000 services; and support for an uplift in the state's ambulance service capability and delivery of benefits to the overall health system.

This takes pressure off the state's hospitals, through increased secondary triage and alternative care pathways to reduce presentations at emergency departments. This project aligns with the SA Health strategic plan's primary objective, which is for South Australians to experience the best health care in the country. This will be done by strengthening primary health care and enhancing hospital care by providing services close to where people live.

SA Health has incorporated sustainable development principles into the scope of the project. To help achieve these sustainable aspirations, several measures have been integrated into the facility design. These include provisions for future electric vehicle charging stations, highly accessible and flexible engineering spaces and backbone systems to cater for changes in technology, provision for a mechanical design system to deal with adverse weather conditions, the use of energy-efficient heating/cooling and lighting designs that allow for high levels of daylight while mitigating solar glare, and a fully electrified station.

The project will follow best practice principles as advocated by the state government and construction industry authorities. Given the importance of the project, an executive steering committee will be established from across government agencies, including SA Health, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, as well as SAAS and the State Health Coordination Centre. This executive steering committee will meet monthly to monitor all elements of the SAAS infrastructure program.

Risk management will form an integral part of this process, identifying and assessing risk and ensuring appropriate management or mitigation measures are incorporated into the project delivery. A key risk is ongoing capital pressures and supply chain delays, alongside the continued escalation of prices. Another risk is increases in the ICT/technology scope requirements for the facility.

Furthermore, there is a risk due to the site being newly procured and there is limited knowledge and information available about the possibility of hazardous materials. The project teams have reviewed the site, as well as geotechnical data, and will conduct destructive tests and ground boreholes to identify any potential risks.

Engagement and consultation will be a key theme throughout the project. Consultation has occurred with various subject matter experts within SA Health and SAAS, including Work Health and Safety, SAAS operational staff, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, and industrial bodies.

Additionally, the City of West Torrens council has been consulted, and renders of the building were publicly released for consideration. As the site is currently used for industrial and commercial purposes there are no residences in the immediate surrounds. Businesses within the vicinity will be engaged on matters affecting them ahead of time to allow for any adjustments to be made.

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.