June 13 looms as the date Govt finally gets the keys to the nRAH

THE State Government will finally get the keys to the $2.3 billion new Royal Adelaide Hospital, triggering $1 million-plus daily payments to the builder — so what’s new expected opening date?

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JUNE 13 has firmed as the date the State Government will finally get the keys to the $2.3 billion new Royal Adelaide Hospital, triggering $1 million-plus daily payments to the builder.

Officials are now weighing up whether to rush the transfer of patients from the existing RAH to beat the winter flu season with the hope it will be late, or postpone the transfer for months.

Documents seen by The Advertiser indicate the North Tce complex will move into a “pre-transition” phase from Monday, until planned “technical completion” on March 15.

After technical completion, there are 90 days for testing followed by “commercial acceptance” when the government starts paying the SA Health Partnership consortium under the 35-year contract to finance, design, construct and then maintain the hospital and provide nonclinical services.

A spokesman for Health Minister Jack Snelling told The Advertiser: “The builder has told us it is aiming to reach technical completion this month.

“Once that happens, it will trigger the 90-day testing period. Obviously safety is our number one priority, so we’ll need to make sure everything is up to scratch before the move.

“If any fixes are identified during the testing period, they’ll need to be fixed before commercial acceptance can happen.”

South Australia’s flagship hospital could open by mid-June.

While June 13 looms as the date for commercial acceptance, it may be as late as November before the hospital admits patients.

Multiple deadlines for technical completion have been missed over the past 14 months — in January, April, May and September last year.

The delays mean the State Government has saved around $420 million in repayments, based on the commercial acceptance now being in June 2017 rather than April 2016 as originally envisaged.

Mr Snelling said patient safety is his number one priority and he will be guided by experts on whether the transfer should be delayed due to the flu season.

“We will do everything we possibly can to be in the hospital before the flu season hits, but if the flu season comes early, we will have to reassess it,” he said.

“Last year the flu season hit very late in the year, it really peaked in September, if we had a repeat of that this year with a late flu season, there is no reason why we could not move in the middle of the year.

“I’ll take a cautious approach and be driven by the best advice I can get about when is the safest time to move.”

In September 2015, when Mr Snelling was under the impression from the builders that commercial acceptance could be on July 3, 2016, he announced patients would not move into the nRAH until November 2016 because it would be “foolhardy and dangerous” to open the hospital in winter.

Meanwhile the State Government is advertising for a “Change Management Director” for the nRAH for six months, to start later this month.