The State Government has announced a significant expansion of hospital beds in the upcoming State Budget, with an additional $30 million commitment to enhance the Queen Elizabeth and Lyell McEwin hospitals.
The new funding adds to the 550 beds already pledged by the Malinauskas Labor Government, bringing the total to more than 600 new beds for SA. The increase is comparable to constructing two new Queen Elizabeth hospitals.
$13.7 million will be invested to provide 36 additional beds. This builds on the recent openings and ongoing projects at QEH, which include 52 beds in a new Clinical Services Building, a 46-treatment space emergency department, and a 24-bed mental health rehabilitation unit. Overall, QEH will gain 112 extra inpatient beds and 15 additional emergency department treatment bays.
An investment of $16.5 million will fund 20 new acute beds, which complements the 48 new beds currently under construction and the 23 new emergency department treatment spaces recently opened. In total, the hospital will feature 76 emergency department treatment spaces.
Construction for these additional beds at both hospitals is set to begin this year, with the beds expected to be operational by next year.
In addition to the extra beds, the government is making significant strides in expanding healthcare services and staffing. $17.1 million will be dedicated over the next four years to expand dialysis services in northern metropolitan Adelaide. This will include a new 30-chair renal haemodialysis unit, accommodating an anticipated 30% increase in demand over the next decade.
Since taking office, the government has recruited 1,432 additional health workers, including 691 nurses and 329 doctors. This expanded workforce will support the new hospital beds and improve overall healthcare delivery.
State Health Infrastructure Director General Dave Forster has been tasked with ensuring these new beds are fast-tracked and delivered promptly. This year alone, 150 new beds will be opened across several hospitals, including the Repat, Lyell McEwin, Queen Elizabeth, and Flinders Medical Centre.
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