Next week's ACT budget will include $15 million for Calvary Bruce Public Hospital to expand the emergency department and refurbish the adult mental health unit.
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The refurbishment will not include new inpatient beds for the stretched adult mental health unit, but there will be an extra eight short stay unit beds in the emergency department.
Minister for Health Meegan Fitzharris said the investment will improve the access and timeliness of health care on Canberra’s northside.
Calvary Hospital is the main hospital for Canberra’s northside, with about 60,000 presentations to the emergency department each year.
The hospital's head of the emergency department Stuart Stapleton said there was no doubt the department was under stress.
"The geography of the department is an old department that was really designed to see less than half that number of patients," he said.
"We've been looking to try to upgrade for quite some time, every emergency department is, but the reality around the country is there is no new build ED that doesn't burst at the seams fairly quickly after it's opened."
Ms Fitzharris said upgrade work at Calvary was expected to being within a month.
"The ACT Government will work with Calvary Public Hospital Bruce to deliver additional treatment spaces, improved access and triage arrangements, enhanced waiting areas, and an expanded short stay unit, including additional paediatric beds, within the emergency department," she said.
“At the same time, we will support replacement and upgrades of essential equipment, including clinical and diagnostic equipment like patient monitoring equipment and a new CT scanner.”
Minister for Mental Health Shane Rattenbury said the refurbishment of the mental health ward would provide patients with upgraded facilities to meet their needs and create a modern mental health service hub at Calvary.
“We know that more people are coming forward to seek support for mental health issues and the ACT
Government is committed to improving our service system to respond to this growing demand," Mr Rattenbury said.
This $15 million upgrade to Calvary’s facilities and equipment is designed to deliver a more comfortable
experience for people visiting the ED, and better access to hospital facilities.
The upgrade will include an additional eight short stay unit beds, which will bring the total number of short stay beds to 19.
And more clinical staff will be employed once the refurbishment is complete in September 2019.
“The ACT Government is taking a territory-wide approach to health services, and making sure we have high quality hospital services right across Canberra so that people can get the care they need closer to home," Ms Fitzharris said.
