New Women’s and Children’s Hospital

The New Women’s and Children’s Hospital will be located on the Thebarton Barracks site near the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and will be 25% bigger than the current hospital.

Construction is underway on the new hospital’s eight-storey 1300-space car park and central energy plant.

Key clinical benefits of the new hospital include:

• critical care services, with birthing, theatres, a 23-hour ward, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on one floor
• dedicated helipad with direct access to critical clinical areas
• 414 overnight beds, 56 more overnight beds than the current WCH, with future capacity to provide a further 20 beds
• dedicated sterilisation facilities
• an integrated 4-bed Intensive Care Unit to enable women requiring critical care to remain at the hospital
• Park Lands connectivity to assist families and enhance patient care.

Women’s and Children’s Hospital upgrades

While planning is underway for a bigger and better new Women's and Children’s Hospital, we're upgrading the existing Women's and Children's Hospital.

We will continue to provide the highest quality care to our patients by:

• upgrading the Adolescent Ward to support consumer and clinical needs
• upgrading the Paediatric Emergency Department (PED)
• engineering infrastructure and biomedical equipment upgrades.

Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department upgrades

We’ve upgraded the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) emergency department triage and waiting room area, increasing seat numbers from 36 to 48, to help clinicians treat patients faster and improve patient flow.

We’ve established a rapid assessment and intervention zone at the RAH emergency department, which eight treatment spaces allowing for increased assessment and intervention at the front of the emergency department.

We’re delivering brand new, upgraded and completely rebuilt ambulance stations and more staff to provide emergency medical care for South Australians.

New ambulance station at Norwood

The new Norwood ambulance station opened in July 2024, located on the corner of Portrush Road and Magill Road. The new ambulance station is a base for 16 paramedics and 12 ambulance officers who commenced in 2022.

New SA Ambulance Service Precinct Adelaide

Construction is underway on a new Adelaide ambulance station and Emergency Operations Centre located on Richmond Road at Mile End South, due for completion in December 2025.

The Precinct will be the base for:

• 32 paramedics (first group joined July 2024 and next group will commence July 2025)
• four new ambulances
• 24 paramedics and fleet relocated from Ashford station
• a new Emergency Operations Centre
• 15 additional emergency medical dispatchers
• a new State Health Coordination Centre.

Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service

The free Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service has been made a permanent service and has been extended to include mental health. The service connects parents with a virtual team of highly skilled emergency doctors and nurses who can assess and provide medical advice for their children, aged between six months and up to 18 years.

Women’s Assessment Service

The new Virtual Women’s Assessment Service provides virtual care and referrals for South Australian women with symptoms of early pregnancy loss or gynaecological concerns to receive treatment from the comfort of their own home.

Norwood 24/7 Pharmacy

The State Government has supported three pharmacies across Adelaide to open their doors 24/7 to provide medication, advice and care when South Australian families most need it and help reduce pressure on hospitals.

National Pharmacies Norwood is open 24/7.

BRIGHT hospital avoidance service

The BRIGHT hospital avoidance service in Sefton Park provides rapid assessment and acute care for patients whose care needs are unable to be met by primary care providers and would otherwise need to be managed in an emergency department.

This referral-only service has a multidisciplinary team, including doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. There are in-person and virtual consultation options, and a range of on-site services including pharmacy, pathology and imaging.

Increased drug and alcohol support

Drug and alcohol addiction creates significant challenges for individuals, families and the community. The State Government is increasing the number of dedicated treatment beds and delivering more community support for families impacted by addiction. This ensures community-based treatment is easier to access, including 12 additional alcohol and drug rehabilitation beds in Metropolitan Adelaide.

BreastScreen SA headquarters

A new state-of-the-art Assessment Clinic and State Coordination Unit for BreastScreen SA was opened in November 2023 at the former Wakefield Hospital site. The new headquarters includes an additional consultation room, larger client waiting areas, dedicated results clinic space, new ultrasound room, and two brand new mammography machines.

Supporting people experiencing homelessness

The State Government has funded 20 additional discharge beds for people experiencing homelessness in a nine-year partnership with The Salvation Army. Patients discharged from the Royal Adelaide Hospital and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be offered safe accommodation and connection to support services, as well as support to find longer-term accommodation options once they are well enough.

The first of the new beds will open late 2024, with all 20 beds expected to open early 2025.

Urgent Mental Health Care Centre

The Urgent Mental Health Care Centre on Grenfell Street in the Adelaide CBD provides an alternative to an emergency department for people aged 16 years and over with urgent mental health needs. The 24/7 centre offers a range of mental health support services and out-of-hospital care for people experiencing a mental health crisis.

Boosting our healthcare workforce

We’re investing in more doctors and nurses for the Women’s and Children’s Hospital including:

• 48 additional doctors and 12 specialty cancer and mental health nurses to boost capacity and relieve pressures on the hardworking staff
• at least five additional child psychiatrists and 10 additional child psychologists to work in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
• partnering with psychiatrists to develop a long-term plan addressing critical workforce shortages in psychiatry in South Australia.