New Women’s and Children’s Hospital will be ‘too small’ with just four more beds, senior clinicians warn

Treatment spaces will rise by just four at the new WCH, as doctors claim it will be “too small” – even before it opens.

The new Women’s and Children’s Hospital will have just four more treatment spaces than the existing hospital, internal documents show.

Revelation of the breakdown of spaces comes as senior clinicians warn the new hospital will be “too small”.

It also follows a horror night at the WCH on Tuesday when demand hit “unprecedented” levels, with children waiting hours to be seen and at one stage there were 60 children either in the ED waiting room or waiting for a bed or appropriate support after being treated.

The documents obtained by The Advertiser dated February 15 show the existing site has 441 treatment spaces in total, while the planned new hospital will have 445.

SA Health says treatment spaces are: “the sum of bed numbers, number of theatres and recovery areas, day treatment areas, and emergency department clinic spaces.”

The documents show the paediatric emergency department will grow from 36 to 51 spaces.

However, “multi-day spaces” — beds — fall from 338 to 313, while same day treatment spaces remain at 27.

The current Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide.

The new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, to be built next to the RAH on North Terrace. Picture: SA Health

Paediatric and surgical multi-day spaces drop from 199 to 180 while women’s overnight stay spaces drop from 68 to 56.

Acute mother and baby care spaces double from six to 12.

Neonatal intensive care unit cots (18), special care cots (47) and birthing spaces (18) all stay the same.

In a parliamentary committee hearing paediatric intensive care doctor Steve Keeley warned the new WCH will be too small, saying: “There is not anyone I have spoken to who does not believe the site is too small – not one doctor.”

SA Health says treatment spaces are being determined by “state-wide planning and analysis of clinical activity at the current hospital.”

“This planning provides for more of the future growth in low acuity paediatric care requirements being delivered from within the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network,” a statement says.

A government spokesman said the northern suburbs will be an area of high population growth over the coming decades, and “the size and scope of the nWCH is being considered amongst the need to provide services for women and children in areas of population growth as well as in the centre of Adelaide.”

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton accused the government of ignoring clinicians’ concerns, saying: “We know the current hospital is already massively overwhelmed – if we build a new hospital with fewer beds the problem will only get worse.”