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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-02-09 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: Lyell McEwin Hospital Expansion

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:38): I move:

That the 17th report of the committee, on the Lyell McEwin Hospital 48-bed expansion, be noted.

I am very proud to talk about this project before the house today. The public works submission from the Department for Health and Wellbeing, or SA Health, proposes to expand the Lyell McEwin Hospital through the addition of two new inpatient wards. The Lyell McEwin is a major hospital that forms part of the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network. With an annual growth rate of 1 per cent, the network services the second-fastest growing population in the state. This growth is strongest in the older 70-plus demographic, which has a significantly higher reliance on health services.

Compared with other state networks, the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network also services the highest percentage of the most vulnerable population, which includes people living with chronic disease and substance abuse. These factors have compounded the demand for health services in the northern suburbs.

Established at Elizabeth Vale in 1958, the Lyell McEwin has progressed from being a community hospital to one of three adult tertiary hospitals serving South Australians. This progression has come with an increase in the volume and complexity of services. Today, the Lyell McEwin provides a comprehensive range of medical, surgical, diagnostic, emergency and support services to people living in the northern suburbs and a wider catchment area—including Gawler, in your electorate, Mr Deputy Speaker.

The hospital has seen various phases of redevelopment over the last 20 years, including a new inpatient building constructed in 2013. This building provided 96 single-occupancy bedrooms with ensuites and support spaces over two levels, with a helipad above. As part of the broader master plan, a shortfall of future development sites was identified at that time.

That shortfall, along with a population model that predicted a significant increase in demand, encouraged the project team to futureproof the site by providing room to grow. A level 3 slab was constructed and the helipad was raised to enable future development to proceed under the structure. That additional space is now the site of this proposed expansion.

Plans submitted by SA Health call for the construction and fit-out of two 24-bed inpatient wards above the existing inpatient ward. The 2022-23 state budget committed $47 million to making these plans a reality, and upon completion the number of beds in the inpatient building will increase from 96 to 144. The new facilities will provide single-occupancy rooms with ensuite and include four bariatric rooms, four large patient rooms with bariatric features, two negative-pressure isolation rooms and six hardened patient rooms to accommodate high-risk consumers.

In addition, the public works will provide clean utility rooms capable of accommodating the planned rollout of automated drug dispenser units. There will also be support spaces constructed, including a disposal room, cleaners' room and pantries. Staff facilities will be built to accommodate amenities, offices and open-plan workstations.

Importantly, the project design integrates dementia-friendly design principles to allow easy access and wayfinding, promoting safety, security and patient comfort. The project supports the provision of workstations on wheels and wall-mounted workstations, enabling the move towards electronic medical records. This encourages a model of care that allows clinical staff to spend more time on the floor rather than in workrooms. Construction is scheduled to commence in February 2023, with practical completion and commissioning in June 2024.

It is recognised by SA Health that providing a facility with good environmental qualities will provide a positive environment and workplace for staff, patients and occupants, supporting better healthcare outcomes and improved wellbeing. Similarly, it is recognised that a facility that consumes less energy, reduces waste and encourages re-use of resources will provide benefits in reduced operational costs and environmental impact. The project team have established formal processes to ensure that ecologically sustainable development strategies (ESD) are comprehensively incorporated into the project during all phases.

In regard to procurement, the process for engaging the construction contractor is being managed by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, using established evaluation and contracting processes. The award of construction contracts was due to begin in November 2022 and proceed through to last month. SA Health confirms that project delivery will follow best practice principles for procurement and management, as advocated by the state government and construction industry authorities. These practices include the establishment of a cost plan and the management of costs within that plan; the regular scheduling of reviews to ensure compliance with time, cost and quality expectations; and the identification of risks and the implementation of risk mitigation strategies.

SA Health confirms that engagement and consultation have been key themes during the concept planning stage, and consultation with various stakeholders will continue throughout the construction period. These stakeholders include, but are not limited to, clinical user representatives, an Indigenous liaison officer, and work health safety representatives. Northern Adelaide Local Health Network will manage communications around site planning and logistics and ensure hospital users receive appropriate information. This will be achieved through newsletters, project information boards and website updates.

The committee has examined written and oral evidence in relation to the expansion of Lyell McEwin Hospital. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Mr Tim Packer, Director Capital Projects, Infrastructure, Department for Health and Wellbeing; Mr John Harrison, Director Building Projects Across Government Services, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; Mrs Deidre Kinchington, Director Capital Development, Northern Adelaide Local Health Network; and Mr Peter Petrou, Project Director, Cheesman Architects. I thank the witnesses for their time before the committee.

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 works.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (11:45): I will briefly add some comments and thank the Public Works Committee for its deliberations and its support of this important project at Lyell McEwin Hospital. As you well know, Mr Deputy Speaker, this is a very growing area in terms of our northern suburbs, and we have a clear need for more hospital beds at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.

This is a hospital which 20 or so years ago was very, very small and was akin to one of our country hospitals in terms of size. Through stages A, B and C redevelopments and now the emergency department and mental health short-stay redevelopments, the expansion of Lyell McEwin is very substantial compared with what it was those 20 years ago, but there is still a need for more.

We need to build this up as a tertiary-level hospital, including behind the scenes, to have the bed capacity to cater for the population needs of the northern suburbs. We know that the key issue that we are facing in terms of addressing access block, ramping and ambulance delays is making sure that we can get that flow through the system and making sure that people are not getting stuck in emergency departments when they need admitted beds in our hospital system. This is a critical project as part of that work.

Importantly, this is a great sign of some forward thinking when the stage C redevelopment happened all those years ago under the Rann and Weatherill governments. There was obviously the thought that at some stage we would need to expand the hospital and we would need to put in additional beds. There was a plan devised so that on top of that clinical services building there was the ability to add another floor, and that is effectively what we are doing now in terms of adding those 48 beds.

That will be a significant boost to the capacity of the Lyell McEwin Hospital. It is also, of course, in addition to all the other upgrades and improvements that we are making right around the healthcare system and is a doubling of what we committed to do at the election. We committed at the election to build 24 more beds at the Lyell McEwin. We are now doing 48 more beds at the Lyell McEwin. I thank the Public Works Committee for its deliberations and endorse this project to the house as something that will make a real difference for people's health care in the northern suburbs.

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:48): I would just like to thank the Minister for Health for his contribution and also note that on behalf of my constituents of Florey—who like myself are users of the Lyell McEwin Hospital—we would like to thank the state government for its continuing investment and support of the hospital.

Motion carried.

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