Women’s and Children’s Hospital clinicians warn government over new hospital’s proposed design brief

Designs lack basic details and pose risks to vital services, say clinicians, who are now refusing to sign off on new hospital plans.

Clinicians at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital have refused to endorse early design plans for the new hospital project, with some blasting the government for not revealing even basic details.

The scathing feedback has prompted Health Minister Stephen Wade to extend the consultation period for the new hospital.

Doctors in nine major areas at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital raised serious concerns in the government’s Functional Design Brief, obtained by the Opposition on Thursday.

The 560-page draft document, prepared in February, details early plans for 60 hospital areas, with each segment including feedback from staff and doctor groups. Once complete, the brief will be given to architects.

Infectious diseases doctors said they were “not prepared to agree” to the design brief because the government hadn’t provided the final number of rooms or their dimensions in certain areas of the hospital.

The clinicians, at the current Women’s and Children’s Hospital, raised their concerns in the government’s draft design brief, to be sent to architects once complete.

“This data is critical to everything we do, and we understand this is available and should be presented to us before seeking an agreement to the final document,” the doctors wrote in the report.

In dozens of instances, the document does not reveal how many rooms are to be built in each area and often uses ‘XX’ in place of numbers.

“The caveat approach with “XX” etc is totally unacceptable for many obvious reasons. Infectious Diseases cannot endorse the document until this has been resolved,” the doctors said.

Doctors in the Paediatric Day Unit (PDU) provided scathing feedback about the size of the new proposed unit.

“After all of this consideration, the size of the new unit proposed is EXACTLY the same size as the current unit,” the clinicians wrote in the report.

“(We) cannot endorse this document without a full and frank discussion with the team responsible for modelling the future use of the PDU.”

Nephrologists warned the proposed room size for renal unit secretaries would pose a “risk to service delivery”.

Health Minister Stephen Wade has extended the consultation period for the new Women’s & Children’s Hospital.

Mr Wade said current hospital planning indicated there would be 445 treatment spaces at the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

“However, this number is not final and we are extending the consultation process as we listen to the insight of clinicians,” he said.

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said doctors were in “open revolt” about the proposed design brief.

“Steven Marshall must ensure these doctors are listened to and we don’t end up with a hospital with fewer beds and insufficient services as warned by doctors,” he said.

Mr Wade hit back, declaring Labor had “no credibility when it comes to planning and building a hospital”.

“Labor announced a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 2013, promising it would open in 2023 and then did nothing for four years,” he said.

“The State Government has consulted with more than 690 clinicians and other staff, and 35 consumers during more than 1000 hours of consultation on the nWCH.”

Earlier this month, The Advertiser revealed the new hospital will have just four more treatment spaces than the existing site, according to internal documents.

The documents also showed beds would fall from 338 to 313 at the new hospital.

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