The South Australian Premier, Mike Rann, has announced the finalisation of the contract to construct, operate and maintain the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH).

 

The final cost for construction of the RAH has been estimated at $1.85 billion, with a further $244.7 being spent on medical equipment.

 

Treasurer Jack Snelling said the total capital cost will be higher than first estimated after extensions were made to the original plans and an upgraded ICT system is due to be installed.

 

He said payments will not start until 2016, from when the Government will pay an average $397 million a year for 30 years to the South Australian Health Partnership (SAHP) who will be responsible for the non-clinical costs of running and maintaining the hospital.

 

The new RAH will provide a full range of complex medical, surgical, diagnostic and support services and will have:

 

  • 800 beds (700 multi day beds – including intensive care and high dependency – plus 100 same day beds). The current RAH has 650 multi day beds and 30 daybeds.
  • 100 percent single inpatient bedrooms with ensuites
  • 40 identical technical suites (operating theatres, intervention suites and procedure rooms) that will each be 65 square metres, compared to 35 such rooms in the existing RAH, only one of which is a comparable size.
  • 181 recovery spaces – This is an increase of 107 on the 74 in the current RAH which means an increase in the surgical and other procedures that can be done each day.
  • 78 emergency treatment and 8 resuscitation spaces –
  • Leading edge technology incorporated in the design so supplies can be efficiently moved around using automated guided vehicles and automated ordering systems, reducing the time clinical staff spend on paperwork.
  • Electronic tagging of biomedical and other clinical equipment allowing staff to quickly and easily locate equipment, saving time and increasing efficiency.
  • Capacity for 5 MRI machines, 7 CT scanners and 6 linear accelerators – there are 2 MRI machines, 3 CT scanners and 5 linear accelerators at the current RAH.
  • Room to expand – the new RAH site is almost 13ha, compared to the current RAH’s 5.6ha. There is also capacity for a 30 percent expansion, still leaving 2ha of open space.
  • Green space – the new RAH will have 2.7ha of courtyards, gardens and outdoor areas built into the hospital, compared to less than 2000 sq metres at the current RAH. Most inpatient rooms will overlook the Torrens and Park