New mental health unit to open opposite QEH in 2025
The state government will take control of an empty retirement village across the road from a major Adelaide hospital for a vital health unit.
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A disused retirement village will be transformed into a new mental health unit across the road from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The state government will compulsorily acquire a 4300 sqm parcel of land on Woodville Rd, Woodville South, to expand the hospital footprint and provide 24 extra mental health beds.
It is currently home to the empty Sutherland Court Retirement Village.
Demolition is set to begin later this year and a $44m mental health rehabilitation unit is expected to be complete in late 2025.
Health Minister Chris Picton said the government had “launched the process” to compulsorily acquire the land owned by a non-government organisation “who we’ve been having discussions with”.
Mr Picton said the government had already hired architects and planners to begin designing the new mental health unit.
“This is a critical need that we have and we want to get on with that as soon as possible,” he said.
“People who come to hospitals for mental health conditions are often the ones who get stuck in emergency departments and that means that they’re delayed, but it also means that the next patient coming in from the ambulance or the waiting room gets delayed as well.”
Mr Picton also released latest ambulance ramping data that showed patients and paramedics spent 565 fewer hours ramped across the state’s hospital system in January.
The greatest improvements were at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (268 fewer hours) and Lyell McEwin Hospital (106 fewer hours).
Overall ambulances were ramped for 3018 hours in January, down from 3583 in December.
Ramping peaked at a high of 3838 hours in June, 2022.
Opposition health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn said South Australians “won’t take any comfort in these figures, as it again highlights the shocking state of our emergency departments and the immense pressure our frontline health workers are facing”.
“Despite promising to ‘fix ramping’, Peter Malinauskas has now presided over the nine worst months of ramping in South Australia’s history – with these latest figures almost double those of the last month under the previous government.”
SA Health has confirmed a ramping task force comprising 12 members now meets fortnightly.
Mr Picton said the latest figures were “encouraging results” but conceded “we still do need more capacity in our healthcare system”.
The state government plans to build another two 24-bed mental health units at Noarlunga and Modbury hospitals, as part of a $124m pre-election commitment.
It is also preparing to open stage three of a long-term redevelopment of the QEH in mid-2024.
A five-level clinical services building will feature 46 emergency department bays (up from 31 currently), 12 operating theatres, a 14-bed intensive care unit and 52-bed rehabilitation facility (moving resources from the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre), a new cardiac catheter lab and expanded medical imaging and pathology facilities.
Concrete structure works on the building are nearing completion and work on the facade began recently.
Mr Picton said the expansion would “play a significant role in improving patient flow and ensuring people in the western suburbs can get the care they need closer to home”.
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