First look: Qld’s most pandemic-proof hospital
The first images have been released of a new hospital claiming to be the most pandemic-proof in Queensland. SEE THE PICS.
QLD News
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THE first images have been released of a new hospital claiming to be the most pandemic-proof in Queensland.
Specialised health architects are working with medical specialists to ensure the new Mater Hospital Springfield will have world-class facilities to handle waves of Covid-positive patients when it opens in 2024.
The hospital will have a purpose-built, 28-bed pandemic ward, which can be fully isolated from the rest of the hospital and will be supported by a negative-pressure air ventilation system.
The number of isolation rooms in every ward of the new hospital is also being increased, while the emergency department will also be designed to operate in pandemic conditions.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of healthcare, and it’s also changing the
design of our hospitals,” Mater CEO Peter Steer said.
“Our expanded hospital will be better prepared for a future pandemic than any other facility of
its kind,” Dr Steer said.
Mater Private Hospital Springfield opened in 2015, but the facility will be dramatically expanded under a $1 billion, 10-year investment from the state government announced last year.
The hospital will provide 174 public beds, as well the Western Corridor’s first emergency department, intensive care unit and maternity service.
Lead architect Daniel Sorbello of Peddle Thorp said the hospital was designed to
support the increased need to isolate patients during a pandemic, while providing flexibility to respond to new challenges.
“Covid-19 has had a major impact on the design of all new buildings, but nowhere more so
than in new hospitals,” Mr Sorbello said.
“Mater Hospital Springfield will be the most pandemic-resilient building we have ever been
involved with.”
The new hospital will include other pandemic-resilient features including two dedicated isolation rooms on each hospital ward, two beds in ICU, one birthing suite, a negative-pressure operating theatre for infectious patients, and an external triage zone to assess incoming patients during a pandemic.
Other Queensland hospitals and health services across the state have ramped up their pandemic response since the Omicron variant outbreak earlier this year.
The Gold Coast University Hospital also has a dedicated wing to house pandemic patients and other hospitals have retro-fitted their facilities with pandemic-resilient measures.
Originally published as First look: Qld’s most pandemic-proof hospital
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