ADELAIDE

New QEH building now open!

August 2024 More than 1800 clinicians, nurses and other staff have put the final touches on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s new five-storey clinical services building was opened to the public early July. As announced by the South Australian Government the $314 million expansion will add 67-beds to South Australia’s busy hospital system. The building – named Kangkanthi which means ‘to care’ in the Kaurna language – includes 52 new inpatient beds and a 46- treatment bay emergency department, an increase of almost 50 per cent on the capacity of the hospital’s old ED. The new ED also has a three-bed rapid assessment zone to provide early investigation and treatment to fast-track patients. A four-bed assessment area will separately provide a safe, therapeutic environment for mental health patients who require extended assessment and treatment. Other features of the 27,000sq m space include a 14-bed intensive care unit, a new MRI machine and two CT scanners. A new cardiac catheter lab and procedural suite will be a key part of improved clinical support services, which also include expanded medical imaging and pathology. The 52-bed rehabilitation facility, located on levels three and four of Kangkanthi, will pave the way for the QEH to be a key provider of inpatient general rehabilitation services for patients recovering from a stroke, burns, an amputation or orthopaedic concerns. Kangkanthi is also equipped with contemporary therapy spaces on each rehabilitation ward, consisting of single bedrooms each with their own ensuite and specialised features such as integrated ceiling lifters. There are 12 state-of-the-art operating theatres and a new central sterilisation service for theatre instruments. The opening comes as the hospital celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. The QEH opened in 1954 as a maternity hospital and expanded its services, becoming a general hospital in 1959. The hospital's history includes: First unit in Australia to perform a successful kidney transplant in 1964. Also, the first IVF baby in South Australia was born at the QEH in 1983. The South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said, "these 67 brand new beds are part of our plan to open more than 600 beds across our hospitals to boost capacity and improve patient care. I’m proud to lead a government that is making significant investments in health for the long term". "The Kangkanthi building, which was funded, planned, and announced by the previous Labor Government in June 2017, will play a crucial role in enhancing patient care".

Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia