The Victorian government has committed $66 million to staff expanded emergency services at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, with 20 extra treatment spaces due to open in December. The funding announcement on Friday follows concerns that new beds would be left unused because there was no money for additional staff.
The government’s announcement says the larger emergency department will include new cubicles, short-stay beds and fast-track bays. It estimates the investment will allow an additional 13,000 children to receive emergency care each year, with nursing staff available when the new treatment spaces begin operating.
A new procedure room will allow minor procedures to be performed within the emergency department without admitting children to a ward, according to the government. It says this will help children return home sooner and free up inpatient beds for other patients who need them.
The staffing commitment includes up to 25 graduate nurses joining the emergency department team. Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said every additional treatment space would open from day one, while the government said the expansion would help families and hospital staff during periods of peak demand.
The ABC reported that hospital sources had warned last month that the additional beds could not be used without funding for staff. The new spaces had previously been expected to open in November, but the government now says they will begin treating children in December.
Australian Medical Association Victoria president Simon Judkins welcomed the announcement but warned that recruiting nurses and doctors before the December opening could be challenging, the ABC reported. He told the broadcaster that “the recruitment of that number of staff takes a lot of time”.
The hospital’s project information describes a larger emergency department with a second waiting room and new staff facilities. It says the department is being extended into a former undercover car park, alongside other works to reconfigure and fit out its rooms and treatment areas.
The broader expansion also includes a 30-bed inpatient ward delivered in its first stage. The government says that ward is already treating an additional 2,730 children a year. The December emergency department opening is the next step in bringing the additional treatment capacity into use.
