The opening of a new ward and 22 beds at the Hobart Repatriation Hospital will provide additional beds to ease pressure on the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH).
The RHH Redevelopment continues on track with $388.7 million allocated in the forward estimates, but we acknowledge that this project, together with increasing numbers of patients, are combining to put pressure on the working hospital
This is why we are opening more beds to address the need.
The $7 million upgrade of the Repat will commence as soon as possible in order to allow the beds to be operational by mid-next year for the final stage of the RHH Redevelopment.
The new Repat beds are part of our $76.6 million investment on the 59 hospital beds in the South, to ease pressure on the Royal.
This will be made up of:
Other than the Repat hospital project, each of the other bed initiatives are either up and running or very soon to open.
The beds will be supported by more than 230 staff in the South, including 150 nurses, 13 doctors, 30 allied health and support staff, as well as the recruitment of 35 new paramedics in the greater Hobart area and Launceston, to fully staff two new 24-hour ambulance crews and better staff our existing rosters.
And, we have invested a total of $6.7 million in the new Glenorchy Health Centre, as well as spend $5.8 million to build a new Kingston Health Centre.
A number of other measures will benefit the South including - $16.9 million for the roll out of the One Health System reforms, $16 million for mental health initiatives, $9 million for a second Ambulance Tasmania Aero‑Medical and Retrieval Service and Tasmania Police Search and Rescue helicopter and $6 million towards a Tasmanian Health Service Statewide Operations and Command Centre.
The Hodgman Government is getting on with the job of delivering a health system Tasmanians deserve and this continued record investment is proof of that.