First look at new tower for Flinders Medical Centre, as next tranche of 160 extra beds set to open

Sunday, 24 March 2024

Construction is set to begin on a 98-bed tower at Flinders Medical Centre, as a new 20-bed inpatient ward nears completion, providing a huge health care boost for Adelaide’s southern suburbs.

Designs for the new seven-level Acute Services Building (Tower) have been released, revealing its position at the front of Flinders Medical Centre.

It will include two 32-bed Adult Inpatient Units, an 18-same-day-bed Medical Day Unit, as well as a 16-bed Intensive Care Unit and supporting CT scanner suite.

The Tower will also provide four new Operating Theatres, 14-bay recovery areas, a new Day of Surgery Admissions area and a dedicated floor for the FMC Eye Surgery Clinic that will enable the integration of FMC’s ophthalmology services into a single, modern facility.

It is part of a $498 million investment, jointly funded by the State and Federal governments, to significantly increase hospital capacity in Adelaide’s south, including a 160-bed expansion across Flinders Medical Centre and the Repat.

The new FMC Tower, which is expected to open in 2028, will form the new main entrance for the hospital. 52 beds will open across Flinders and Repat this year, with 10 additional acute mental health beds at Margaret Tobin Centre to open in 2025.

The redevelopment of FMC will also include upgrades to essential infrastructure in the hospital to allow for the upgrade including the kitchen, sterilisation services, mortuary and engineering plant.

The Tower, which will deliver more than 17,000sqm of new built area and 3,000sqm of refurbished area, will include more than $20 million of new major medical equipment, including new advanced medical imaging devices to support the hybrid operating theatre, automated pharmacy dispensing cabinets and a new CT scanner.

Early works for the new Flinders Tower will start next month, including the establishment of new bus drop off zones along Flinders Drive.

It comes as 20 new fast-tracked beds are nearing completion at FMC, converting a former office space into a brand-new ward.

Expected to open in May, the new 20-bed inpatient ward will provide acute care services for older South Australians.

The new ward will include eight single rooms including bariatric rooms, five shared rooms, a Diversional Therapy space, as well as a patient lounge area and a private meeting space.

The ward will free up existing beds within the hospital, helping to improve patient flow in the emergency department.

The designs for the ward were developed following consultation with key stakeholders, including clinicians, staff and patients. Space for the expansion was created through the relocation of administrative offices to other sites across FMC.

The other elements of the $498 million 160-bed expansion include the 10-bed expansion of Margaret Tobin Centre for additional mental health beds and 32-bed expansion at the Repat Health Precinct which will also open this year.

Quotes

Attributable to Peter Malinauskas

We are building hundreds of new beds to boost capacity in our hospital system and provide better health care for South Australians.

The construction of the new Flinders Medical Centre Tower will bring high-quality health services to Adelaide’s south.

The addition of 20 fast-tracked beds in the next couple of months will help reduce pressure at Flinders and free up space in the emergency department.

This year alone we’re opening 150 new beds across our hospitals, which will significantly increase capacity and improve patient flow.

Attributable to Chris Picton

This impressive Tower is a key plank of the $498 million jointly funded project by the State and Federal governments to inject an extra 160 beds across Flinders and the Repat.

This year alone, more than 50 beds will open across Flinders and the Repat, with 10 additional acute mental health beds at Margaret Tobin Centre to open next year.

These extra beds are crucial for the growing southern suburbs and will help South Australians get the best care possible in enhanced facilities closer to home.

In addition, we’ve built 20 new beds at Flinders by converting a former office space into a medical ward for patients. It’s been fast-tracked to boost inpatient capacity and it will make an instant impact when it opens soon.

We are building and opening every bed possible to create much-needed extra hospital capacity.

Attributable to Federal Health Minister Mark Butler

Our partnership is providing a once-in-a-generation upgrade at Flinders Medical Centre.

This will ensure Flinders is well-equipped to deliver high quality care well into the future.

We know how vital it is to open every extra bed that we can, to boost services for the expanding southern suburbs.

Attributable to Federal Member for Boothby Louise Miller-Frost MP

Our community in Adelaide’s southern suburbs deserves the very best clinical care and this huge expansion will enable our highly-trained staff to deliver that.

Labor is committed to opening as many beds as possible to expand services and enhance care for residents in our growing southern suburbs.

Attributable to SALHN Chief Executive Officer Professor Kerrie Freeman

The FMC Tower will be transformational for the care we can offer to patients across Southern Adelaide.

These modern units will allow faster treatment in modern settings and enable our staff to care for more people.

We are delighted that the 20-bed ward will be coming online soon. The extra beds will free up space in other parts of the hospital as well as bring specialised care for older people with acute needs. More clinical spaces means we can see more people faster, reducing the time people need to wait in the emergency department waiting room.