Page 52 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
There have been a number of improvements and enhancements since the initial plans were unveiled. In 2008 we committed $90 million to the project. However, the design has evolved, as members would know. The scope and budget have both increased accordingly—first to $97.3 million and then to $111 million. These additional features will ensure that we will deliver a far superior hospital which includes 80 per cent single bed rooms—which I am sure will be welcomed by patients and everybody in this place—better environmental design, enhanced infection control measures, wider corridors to enable the inclusion of new technologies and better logistics, and new services such as a paediatric burns bath.
Stage 1 of the construction, involving the existing maternity building, is progressing well and it is expected to be completed and operational mid-year. The external facade to the building is currently being applied while the interior fit-out continues. Stage 2 will involve further refurbishment of the existing maternity building and is expected to be completed early next year.
MS PORTER: A supplementary.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Ms Porter.
MS PORTER: Chief Minister, what services will be included in the new women’s and children’s hospital when stage 1 opens later this year?
MS GALLAGHER: I thank Ms Porter for the question. The hospital redevelopment, as a whole project, involves a complex decanting process and does require relocating services while we rebuild the hospital. The new women’s and children’s hospital forms part of that process. Some services will move temporarily into the new building while the current maternity building is refurbished, while other services will be permanently located in the new facility. Importantly, all the services for women and children will be available during this process—the NICU, birthing and delivery suites and paediatrics. All the services that we provide to women and children will be operational when stage 1 opens.
Some of the services to move into stage 1 include the neonatal intensive care unit, which will increase in space, so that it will be possible to increase the bed numbers in future. There will be two patients per room, allowing tailored manipulation of light, noise and temperature, as well as improving parent access and care. This is a significant change and improvement on the current NICU and will make a big difference for families with very sick babies. There will also be rooming-in facilities for parents, which are not able to be provided now, to enable better education of parents before taking their babies home.
The birth centre will be relocated to the new building, with an increase in birthing rooms from three to five, allowing more women in the ACT to use this very popular service.
Maternity in-patient wards will also move to the new building. And in order to accommodate families of patients, Ronald McDonald family accommodation will be
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video