New site named for SA hospital

The South Australian government has picked a different site for Adelaide’s new Women’s and Children’s Hospital which will come with a bigger price tag.

The new facility will now be built on land occupied by the South Australian police barracks.

The government will invest up to $3.2 billion in the facility but says that will allow for more beds and treatment spaces compared to the $2.8 billion hospital proposed by the previous Liberal government.

The new site will also allow room for the Women’s and Children’s Hospital and the nearby Royal Adelaide Hospital to expand in the future.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said he appreciated that choosing to build on a heritage-listed site would create a degree of concern within the community.

“But it would be crazy to build a brand new, multi-billion-dollar hospital that is outgrown in a decade’s time,” he said.

“It isn’t a decision without a degree of controversy, but it is a decision focusing on doing what is right for our health system into the long term.”

The new hospital will have 76 more beds than the existing facility in North Adelaide, taking total capacity to 414.

It will also have a 24 per cent increase in treatment spaces along with a dedicated heliport with direct access to critical clinical areas.

Construction is expected to start in 2024 with the hospital to be open by 2031.

The premier said the government would work with police on moving the activities on the barracks site to a new location.