HOW MANY BEDS?
RHH redevelopment
THE first beds in the Royal Hobart Hospital’s new KBlock will open in February, Premier Will Hodgman has announced.
An extra 44 beds would open on top of the 215 beds already promised, he said.
The Premier and Health Minister Sarah Courtney toured the new facility yesterday. He said the new beds would make a big difference.
“It’s going to have a significant impact in reducing demand in the hospital more broadly and providing additional services, whether it be in adolescent, medical or surgical wards,” he said.
“It will also mean around 2500 more patients being treated in those 44 beds.
“So this is going to immediately take a lot of stress off the hospital.”
There was some confusion about the exact number of beds at the Royal yesterday.
The Government says the hospital has 383 beds. The DHHS website lists a capacity of 470 beds. Former health minister Michael Ferguson told budget estimates the number was 505.
The total number of beds at the end of the $600 million redevelopment is not precisely known — although the Government has promised 100 new beds at the Royal over the next four years as part of the 250 new beds at both the Royal and the Repatriation Hospital by 2024. A government spokeswoman yesterday put the final figure at about 620 at the Royal.
Ms Courtney said the new beds would help ease the pressure on the hospital from the very start.
“One of the most exciting aspects of this is what it will do to help patient flow,” she said.
“We know that we’re seeing pressures in our emergency department and on our paramedics on the ramps and we know that puts pressure on our hardworking staff.
“And so what we will do will free up capacity and allow patients to flow from the ED today into the wards and ensure that we are helping those that are on the frontline.”
Labor’s health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell said the announcement was a distraction.
“They’re announcing that they’re going to be opening new beds — this is a smokescreen,” she said.
“While they’re making this announcement, at the same time they’re instructing their hospitals to cut millions and millions of dollars — $50 million from the Royal Hobart Hospital, $50 million from Launceston General Hospital, elective surgery cuts by 15 per cent across the state, $5 million from ambulance services.
“This is an absolute smokescreen. They are trying to fool Tasmanians and we should not be fooled by this.”
Ms Lovell said it was telling that nobody could say how many beds there would be at the Royal.