The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons has questioned the short time-frame for feedback on the State Government proposal to co-locate the Women’s and Children’s Hospital with the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.
The chair of the college’s South Australian committee, Peter Subramaniam, also says that surgeons still don’t know how surgical services will be configured at the new RAH, despite repeated requests for more information from the Government.
Premier Jay Weatherill announced on Saturday that the Government would open a rebuilt Women’s and Children’s Hospital at the new site, off North Terrace, in 2023 at a cost of $600 million.
He said the Government was seeking “initial feedback” from clinicians, staff, unions and the community “to ensure the planning and development of the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital is inclusive and comprehensive”.
Responses are due by November 24, but Subramaniam says surgeons will struggle to provide meaningful feedback because they still don’t know how the new RAH is going to be configured.
He said co-location was a step in the right direction.
“Women with surgical disease during pregnancy and childbirth are certainly best managed in hospitals with good adult surgical services and in cases of severe surgical disease, prompt and easy access to adult intensive care is a major determinant of outcome,” he said.
“Many surgical cases also have medical and occasionally even psychiatric conditions which can arise – co-location with an adult hospital would provide best opportunity for a good outcome.”
Other clear surgical benefits included for gynaecological cancer management, treatment of neonatal congenital cardiac disease and complex pediatric surgery requiring access to surgical sub-specialties.
“However, the RACS finds it unusual that a one month timeframe has been placed for feedback and input by clinicians for a project that is costed at $600 million and scheduled for implementation in a decade,” he said.
“Significant more detail needs to be available for scrutiny and input by clinician groups as would be expected for a project of this magnitude.
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“Detail of the configuration of surgical services (including surgical sub-specialties ) that will be located at the nRAH have yet to be finalised or at least to be announced – despite multiple requests for clear information on this.”
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said the co-location of the hospitals was a good “long-term goal” and made a lot of sense.
However, he questioned the lack of detail in the proposal.
“We know what the facade is going to look like but we have none of the details,” he told ABC radio.
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