Royal Perth Hospital upgrade part of $40million metro emergency department expansion

12/9/07
Western Australia's busiest hospital emergency department (ED) is undergoing a $5million redevelopment, which will significantly boost its capacity to treat patients.
Health Minister Jim McGinty said Royal Perth Hospital's ED was one of the busiest in Australasia, with more than 58,000 people going to the department for care last year.
"In July this year there was a 17.4 per cent increase in the number of people attending Perth EDs compared to July 2006," Mr McGinty said.
"This year, 40,792 people attended metropolitan EDs in July. That's an extra 6,046 on the same month last year.
"And more than 746,584 people attended WA's EDs over the past financial year.
"In order to keep up with this increase in attendances, more than $40million is being spent to redevelop and expand existing metropolitan hospital EDs.
"The RPH expansion will add 12 new treatment bays, taking the total number of ED bays from 41 to 53 and improving the way the whole ED operates."
The ED's new layout will be based on a Japanese management model called 'Lean Thinking', which maximises the use of space and allows staff to work more efficiently.
The upgrade will increase floor space in the ED by 43 per cent and will see the installation of a new $450,000 voice-activated personal communication system, permitting staff to communicate with each other hands-free throughout the large department.
The new wireless system is expected to improve the department's efficiency by up to 20 per cent.
RPH Emergency Department head Dr Frank Daly said the expansion would make the ED more comfortable for patients and would enable some people to be treated and discharged quicker.
"The improved design of the space will increase patient flow and will reduce overcrowding," Dr Daly said.
"The Resuscitation Area will double in size, the Quick Assessment and Care Area which treats patients not requiring hospital admission will triple in size and we will have a dedicated Ophthalmology Assessment Area."
The redevelopment will be completed in stages with new treatment bays coming on line over the next year and a half. The ED will continue to operate throughout the upgrade program.
Other metropolitan EDs undergoing upgrades include:

• Peel Health Campus. Work is under way on a $3.2million expansion of the ED, which will see the number of treatment bays go from 16 to 26. Work is expected to be completed early next year;
• Armadale-Kelmscott Memorial Hospital. Work will begin in January on a $10.4million redevelopment of the ED, which will see the facility expand from 23 treatment bays to 47. Construction is expected to be completed late 2008;
• Joondalup Health Campus. Approximately $16.5million will be spent on expanding the existing ED as part of the $300million upgrade of the entire hospital ($131million from State Government). The ED will go from 25 treatment bays to 56. Work is due to begin in mid- 2008, with the first stage to be completed by the end of 2009 and the second stage by mid- 2010; and
• Rockingham/Kwinana District Hospital. The hospital is now undergoing a $100million total redevelopment, part of which is the $3million expansion of the Emergency Short Stay Unit, which will deliver 17 extra treatment bays (eight for children). The new bays will improve the flow of patients from the ED. The redevelopment is due for completion by early 2009. The ED underwent a $6.5million upgrade three years ago.

There are also plans to expand the EDs at Fremantle Hospital and Swan District Hospital.
In the longer term the expansion of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital at the QEII Medical Centre, the new $193million 331-bed Midland Health Campus and the flagship $1.1billion 643-bed Fiona Stanley Hospital will also considerably increase the metropolitan area's ED capacity.
Hospital expansion programs at Joondalup, Rockingham and QEII, along with the development of Fiona Stanley Hospital and the Midland Health Campus, will see an increase in hospital bed capacity throughout the metropolitan area.
This extra capacity means that more people will be able to be admitted to the hospital from the ED, which in many cases will mean people spend less time in the ED waiting for a bed to become available.
The ED upgrades are part of a $4.1billion capital works program for hospitals across the State.
In addition to expanding ED capacity, the Department of Health continues to develop community-based health care initiatives to reduce people's reliance on hospital EDs.
These include the Healthdirect advice hotline, COACH (a phone coaching program that assists people who have had cardio problems), the Mental Health Emergency Response Line and Community Emergency Response Teams, the Healthy@Home Chronic Disease Teams, community physiotherapy services and the Hospital in Home Program.
Another initiative is the After Hour GP Clinics that have been established at Royal Perth, Fremantle, Swan District, Rockingham/Kwinana, Bentley and Joondalup Hospitals.
The clinics provide people with after-hours access to a GP, which means they do not have to wait in an ED for non-emergency care. Last financial year, 47,332 people visited the GP clinics, an increase of 46.4 per cent on the previous year.
Minister's office - 9422 3000