Modbury Hospital High Dependency Unit delayed until 2021
A FOUR bed High Dependency Unit at Modbury Hospital is unlikely to start taking patients until 2021, despite its operational funding beginning in this financial year.
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A FOUR-bed High Dependency Unit at Modbury Hospital is unlikely to start taking patients until 2021, despite its operational funding beginning in this financial year.
SA Health told Budget Estimates this week that the unit would not open until “early 2021” because of a move to delay capital works.
The delay has seen Health Minister Stephen Wade ask SA Health to investigate “interim locations for the HDU” so the key election pledge could open earlier.
The key election pledge received $23 million across the forward Estimates in this year’s Budget, receiving operational funding in each of the four financial years. The funding also included a $5 million capital works package to get the HDU ready for patients.
SA Health executive director Brendan Hewitt, pictured, told Estimates that after the Budget was finalised, the capital works had been delayed to coincide with other developments at the hospital.
“We plan on commencing work on the high-dependency unit with the extended acute surgical unit later in 2019,” Mr Hewitt said. “It is probably expected that those works will take a little over 12 months, so it will be early in 2021 before they are fully operational as a complete new capital development.”
Mr Wade said a clinical steering group was developing “the best model of care” and an implementation plan for the new unit.
“While the full development of Modbury Hospital is not scheduled to be finished until 2021, the Government is investigating interim locations for the HDU to allow it to open earlier,” he said.
The unit was closed as part of Labor’s controversial Transforming Health reforms.
Labor assistant health spokesman Blair Boyer said the delay was a “bombshell”.
“The Minister needs to immediately clarify whether this broken promise is due to ongoing clinical advice that an HDU is unsafe and that a safer model would be a high observation unit that does not utilise medical specialists,” he said.
Labor opposed a HDU being re-established at Modbury during the election campaign, citing reluctance from clinicians.
Mr Wade also received advice from SA Health that “appropriate levels of clinical safety” may not be achieved unless an intensive care unit was also established at the hospital.
New unit to care for kids and their kidneys
Kathryn Bermingham
CHRONICALLY ill children will benefit from a redeveloped medical day unit and renal dialysis centre at Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s hospital.
The $4 million unit is part of an upgrade to the existing hospital while planning and construction of a new facility is underway, Premier Steven Marshall said at yesterday’s unveiling.
“We have committed to sustaining the current Women’s and Children’s Hospital while we plan and build a new world-class facility,” Mr Marshall said.
“In the interim, chronically ill children will benefit from having access to a refreshed unit designed especially for their needs.”
Shevahn Robinson visits the clinic at least once a week with her daughter, Elsie Glynn, who is hoping to receive a kidney transplant early next year.
Ms Robinson said the new facility will benefit both her and her daughter, 3, who has been receiving dialysis treatment for 12 months.
“It’s nice to come into an area that’s open, it’s more comforting for them to come into a brighter space where it’s not so dark.
“ It will make it more relaxing for me,” she said yesterday.
It’s expected about 98 families will regularly use the state-of-the-art unit.