New $400 million investment in SA Health

The Australian Government will partner with the South Australian Government to deliver $400 million for a once-in-a-generation upgrade to Flinders Medical Centre.

This major project will deliver 160 beds for the south of Adelaide, including 136 extra beds at Flinders Medical Centre and 24 additional beds at the Repat.

The additional beds will increase the hospital’s capacity and reduce delays through ambulance ramping or patients waiting in the emergency department.

Most of the beds will be single rooms to improve patient privacy and infection control. Two-thirds of the beds will be overnight beds and the remaining will be same-day beds to meet the needs of more patients.

The funding will deliver a major upgrade and expansion of the mental health-focused Margaret Tobin Centre, upgrade outdated wards and increase the capacity of the intensive care unit.

There are also plans to build additional operating theatres, increase capacity for emergency and elective surgery, upgrade and expand medical imaging services, and provide a new eye surgery clinic.

The Repat will gain a new 24-bed older person’s unit as a hub for older person’s health and wellbeing.

Mark Butler, Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, said, “This will upgrade and replace aging infrastructure and reduce pressure on the overall hospital network”.

The full upgrade plan is expected to be completed by 2028, with a staged development to deal with the site infrastructure challenges and the need to progressively increase bed availability.

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