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Burnside Hospital Opens Second Stage of New Patient Care Facilites

Author : Sheryle Klingner
Source : Burnside Hospital
Date : Tue 6th Aug 2002

On Sunday 12 May, the hospital will open its new Kensington Road entrance and foyer, together with a 42-space visitor car park at street level.

Twenty-one new private rooms with en suite bathrooms on the first floor will open later in the week, replacing outdated patient accommodation that was demolished when John Hindmarsh (SA) Pty Ltd began construction last April.

The first stage of the project comprising 17 new private rooms – eight for maternity patients and nine in the general ward – was completed in December last year.

Burnside will become one of the few private hospitals in Adelaide offering all single room accommodation. Patients will only share rooms by request or if they require high dependency care.

The emphasis of this landmark project has been to create a comfortable, home-like atmosphere that combines modern finishes and furniture, adequate space for patients' visitors and best use of natural light. Two rooms have been designed to meet the specific needs of palliative care patients.

According to hospital chief executive officer, Mr Nick Warden, Burnside's new facilities will set a benchmark for private hospital accommodation in a fiercely competitive marketplace.

"We will now be in a strong position to offer a standard of accommodation that matches the high quality of medical and nursing care and service that privately insured patients expect", he said.

Work continues on the remainder of the ground floor fit-out, with a café, medical consulting suites, pre-admission clinic and a purpose-built day chemotherapy unit due to be completed by late August. Underground car parking will also become available later in the year.

The hospital’s South Wing will also be remodelled to accommodate a state-of-the-art, six-bed Sleep Disorders Unit, the service having been relocated to Abergeldie Hospital due to space constraints during the building project.

An upgrade of seven existing maternity rooms will be completed by July and plans are being finalised for a major re-fit of the hospital’s Short Stay Procedure Unit to manage continued growth.

Burnside Hospital now offers a total of 59 surgical/medical beds including seven in the Critical Care Unit, 15 obstetric beds and six beds dedicated to studying adult sleep disorders.

Bed numbers have remained static, as although the number of patients treated at Burnside has increased by 15 per cent over the past five years, the average length of stay has fallen by 23 per cent over the same period.

The redevelopment has been funded from the hospital's accumulated funds, borrowings and through the support of the Burnside Hospital Development Appeal.

Since its launch in February 2000, donations of more than $1.44 million have been pledged to the Appeal. An initiative of the Burnside Hospital Foundation Inc., the Appeal is nearing its goal of raising $1.5 million over three years.

An official dedication of the hospital’s new facilities is currently planned for late October.

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