SCHHS Gympie Health Plan · February 2016. Gympie Hospital ... 2016 You are free to copy,...

Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service

Providing essential services for a community with a growing population.

Infrastructure report

February 2016

Gympie Hospital infrastructure report 2016

Gympie Hospital Infrastructure Report, Published by the State of Queensland (Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service), 9 February 2016

This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au© State of Queensland (Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service) 2016

You are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the State of Queensland (Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service).

For more information contact:Office of the Health Service Chief Executive, Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, Hospital Road, Nambour, QLD 4560. Email [email protected] Phone (07) 5470 6605.

DisclaimerThe content presented in this publication is distributed by the Queensland Government as an information source only. The State of Queensland makes no statements, representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any information contained in this publication. The State of Queensland disclaims all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation for liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs you might incur as a result of the information being inaccurate or incomplete in any way, and for any reason reliance was placed on such information.

2


3

1. Refer to Queensland Health 2014, Clinical Services Capability Framework for Public and Licensed Private Health Facilities v3.2, Queensland Government Department of Health, Brisbane.

Gympie Hospital is an important facility within the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service (SCHHS). It provides comprehensive services at Clinical Services Capability Framework (CSCF) Level 31 to a geographic catchment that is almost 7,000 square kilometres and includes rural and coastal communities. It provides these essential services for a community with a growing population, and challenges associated with access to primary health care and other social support services.

The challenges Gympie Hospital faces are similar to those elsewhere in SCHHS, and many other Queensland regional and rural communities. These include providing equitable access to services close to home, an ageing population, and the increasing impact and burden of chronic disease.

To ensure it continues to be a high-performing hospital and meet these challenges, as part of the health service network of services, the Gympie Hospital

has developed and it will be supported to continue to implement innovative models of care. There will also be an emphasis on increasing collaboration with primary care and further partnerships with other health providers. Acute service provision is also being enhanced to increase the scope and range of specialty services.

The Gympie Hospital physical environment consists of a range of buildings of varying ages. Due to the transformation of hospital design over time, the buildings are also of varying functionality and style. A range of investments have progressively been made to maintain and enhance the hospital’s built environment.

This report completes the preliminary stage in the formal process of future planning that will enable the Gympie Hospital site to continue to meet community needs.

Executive summary


The Gympie regional population is projected to increase by 15 per cent (6,786 people) over the 10 years from 2011 to 2021, from 46,774 people to 53,560 people. It is growing and ageing at a lower rate than the SCHHS overall and this trend is forecast to continue over the next decade. The highest growth rate will be in the over 65 age group.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistic Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) score, residents of the Gympie region experience higher rates of social and economic disadvantage compared to the surrounding regions.

High rates of disadvantage are recognised to be a contributing factor in a wide range of health behaviours, risks and health outcomes, in particular chronic disease care and self-management.

PopulationGympie Hospital is located on a 2.4893 hectare elevated block surrounded by Henry Street to the east, Alfred Street to the south, King Street to the west and Jane Street to the north. It is located one kilometre from the town centre and is surrounded by residential housing; a private medical suite and the Queensland Ambulance Service.

The SCHHS also owns two sites opposite Gympie Hospital:

• A 1.092-hectare block of land on Henry Street which includes a house and an obsolete helicopter landing site now utilised for car parking, opposite the main entry (R347 on Section 33, Parish of Gympie).

• A 794 square metre site at 23 Alfred Street (Lot 18 on Section 32, Parish of Gympie).

Hospital site

Figure 1. Gympie Hospital relative to the township

Helicopter landing area Gympie HospitalBruce Hwy

4


5

AccessThe main access to the hospital site (including the main entry and emergency department) is from Henry Street. However, there are multiple pedestrian and vehicular entries from all streets. Disabled parking is available in front of the main entrance, while two-hour parking is available on the hospital grounds and untimed parking in surrounding streets. Gympie Hospital is serviced by the regional bus route. The bus stop is located on Henry Street outside the main entrance.

TopographyThere are topographic challenges on the site, including:

• The site slopes steeply from front to back (east to west)

• The entry from Henry Street is relatively flat however the site slopes down to Jane Street on the north and up to Alfred Street in the south

• The Alfred Street area slopes more steeply from east to west than any other area onsite

• Access around the site can be challenging, particularly in the southern corner where King Street is at a lower level than the buildings fronting it.

The former helipad site opposite the hospital on Henry Street slopes steeply to the north east (front to back), although there is a flat area with a recently completed car park. Figure 2 is a site map of the three properties.

Figure 2: Site map of the three properties

9 Henry Street - Lot 6/MCH5128

12 Henry Street - Lot 1/G147124

23 Alfred Street - Lot 18/G147178

While the town of Gympie has experienced a number of floods in recent years, the hospital has not suffered inundation due to its elevated position. The flooding of the Mary River has cut highway access to the south and north.


Building history and built environmentA hospital has operated on the Gympie Hospital site since 1888. Figure 3 is a site map of the Gympie Hospital showing each building.

Figure 3: Gympie Hospital site map

6


7

Recent enhancementsDuring the past three years, SCHHS has invested in many capital improvements at Gympie Hospital to advance clinical, patient, staff and public services.

These have included refurbishments, modernisation and maintenance, and equipment replacement projects focused on facilitating improved efficiency and capacity, to enable the service to continue consistent delivery of excellent health care. These have included:

• Replacement of the Nurse Call System• Enhancement of the emergency exit lighting within

the main inpatient building to improve safety.• Development of the helipad at Archery Park. • Upgrading the dental sterile stock room to increase

stock access.• Completion of building works to enable

replacement of telecommunications infrastructure.• Redevelopment of two levels of Dunstan Building

to centralise Specialist Outpatient Services.• Replacement of the chiller system in the Clinical

Services Building.• Establishment of a hospital kiosk.• Refurbishment of two lifts in the Main Inpatient

Building.• Building a new car park with 55 additional spaces.• Relocation of executive and administration to the

refurbished Red Cross Building.


The most recent condition assessment of Gympie Hospital infrastructure occurred on April 2012, it did not highlight any urgent or critical issues that required immediate action. All buildings that are currently used for inpatient clinical service delivery met standards and are safe and appropriate for their current use.

The staff accommodation building is currently used however, while it meets the applicable fire safety standards, it is not regarded as satisfying contemporary residential standards. It is most likely that any refurbishment option for this building would be financially prohibitive. Therefore the option of demolition is favoured together with an assessment of what the current accommodation needs are and what options are available to address those needs.

The building that currently houses the community health and mental health services is also identified as requiring investment, should the current unused level two of the building need to be utilised. Any such redevelopment would need to comply with a range of current standards, including disability access and fire safety. At this stage, no immediate need for such investment has been identified.

Other buildings, such as the kitchen and the loading dock area, are assessed as needing a level of further

investment to optimise their effectiveness and to ensure ongoing fitness for purpose.

The kitchen, while being an older building, has had a number of refurbishments and other capital investments. It is assessed as fit for purpose, although not optimal because it is not integrated with the inpatient units. The health service has sought and received funding under the Backlog Maintenance Program for replacement of the roof. The budget allocation for this work is $350,000. It should be noted that the program also has an allocation of $500,000 to replace the roof of the adjoining bulk stores building.

The loading dock requires improvement to ensure it facilitates contemporary practice.

The storage of medical gas would also be enhanced through infrastructure investment.

The main hospital building, including the Dunstan Building, are in sound structural condition and both are viewed as iconic buildings within the Gympie landscape. In this context, it is seen as appropriate and desirable that planning for developments on the Gympie Hospital site are focused on the refurbishment and enhancement of those two buildings.

Building condition assessment

8


9

Current capital investment environment The capital planning process, within the broader Queensland Health sector, is one of high demand and significant competition between the competing demands of health services across the state. In such an environment, it is important the health service can demonstrate any request for capital investment is more essential than other capital investment needs or proposals. In this context, the focus on planned, staged refurbishments and enhancements within the existing building stock on the Gympie Hospital campus is viewed as the only viable approach to ensure outcomes are achieved.

Priority capital investment initiativesThe driving force and constant reference point to prioritise for any capital infrastructure investment for Gympie Hospital will be enhancements that maintain and improve the capacity to deliver safe, quality health care.

As noted earlier in this report a number of capital investments have occurred at Gympie Hospital in recent times. From the 2006 complete new emergency department through to the 2014 creation of a dedicated specialist outpatient area, the built environment has continued to evolve to serve patient care needs.

Other infrastructure investment, including Information and Communication Technology enhancements, lift replacement, lighting and other electrical service enhancements, nurse call system and additional car parking capacity, are further examples of the ongoing commitment to maintaining the infrastructure that is essential for a functioning hospital.

In this context, a critical analysis of the next priority investments has identified the following initiatives:

1. The creation of onsite Computerised Tomography (CT) capacity2. Redevelopment of the current maternity ward, to create an integrated Women’s and Children’s unit.3. Refurbishment of the current Allied Health area, within the Dunstan Building.4. Enhanced loading dock facility and bulk oxygen storage facility.5. Formal assessment on the most appropriate action to address staff accommodation needs including the

possible demolition of the existing onsite staff accommodation building.6. Explore options to expand and refurbish the pharmacy and medical records areas.7. Should collaboration with the G.P. community identify a supported need for an onsite G.P presence, the

creation of a collocated extended hours G.P. clinic will need to be advanced, together with appropriate space for a nurse practitioner conducted clinic.

Each of these issues is individually detailed below.

Installation of onsite CT capacityCurrently, Gympie Hospital uses the services of a private CT provider, situated adjacent to the hospital. While this formal contracted service is performing in accordance with the required standards, it is not as efficient as having a CT installed within the hospital. Preliminary work has identified a suitable area within the hospital’s medical imaging department that would accommodate a 128-slice CT scanner.

The SCHHS will have the capacity to relocate an existing CT scanner that satisfies contemporary service standards. This machine is currently located at Caloundra Health Service and will become available for relocation in early 2017.

Therefore, for a two-part investment in the installation of an onsite CT can be achieved in 2017. This timeframe allows adequate planning with the current private provider for the change in service delivery, and the termination of the existing contract. Initial estimates indicate that this objective can be achieved with building modifications of $250,000 and relocation/installation costs for the CT scanner also of about $170,000.


10

Redevelopment of the current maternity ward, to create an integrated women’s and children’s unitThe model of care for obstetrics and paediatrics at Gympie Hospital would be enhanced if both services were provided in an integrated model. The current maternity unit, like the current paediatric unit, would benefit from a refurbishment to make it a more contemporary environment.

There would also be benefits to the collocation of both units from a staffing and management perspective. While there is no urgent need for this work to occur, it has been identified as a medium term priority so these benefits can be realised and the most patient-focussed environment can be created.

Detailed planning will be required to undertake such refurbishment. Initial budget estimate for this work is approximately $1.3 million.

Refurbishment of the current allied health area, within the Dunstan BuildingThe current Allied Health area, while serviceable, does not represent the most efficient or patient-centred layout and design. The area would be refurbished to improve the patient treatment areas and staff working areas.

Again, detailed planning will be required in order to undertake such refurbishment. The initial budget estimate for this work is about $700,000


11

Enhanced loading dock facility and medical gas storage areaThe current loading dock is not contemporary and is impacted by its location, preventing easy access of large delivery vehicles. Options to explore its relocation or ways of enhancing its operational capacity need to be investigated. Depending on options considered, it is expected that a budget of about $100,000 to $350,000 would need to be allocated for this activity.

Similarly the current arrangements for bulk oxygen and gas storage need to be reviewed with alternative options identified. It is expected that a solution for a bulk storage facility could be achieved for approximately $120,000.

Formal assessment on the most appropriate action to address the current staff accommodationAs noted earlier in this report, the current staff accommodation is not viewed as providing contemporary residential amenity. Prior to recommending any capital investment, a detailed study of staff accommodation needs and how these can be best met within current industrial, recruitment, retention and ongoing financial sustainability, needs to be completed. Such a study would address the broader accommodation options and entitlements.

Explore options to expand and refurbish the pharmacy and medical records areasGiven the increase in activity and future planned growth the expansion of the areas allocated to these two critical services are identified for review to establish how best to meet their needs.

Detailed planning has not been undertaken, however options highlighted by staff include the possibility of utilising the current under-used bulk stores building to house both pharmacy offices and medical records storage, together with the option of building new body storage capacity. If this option was advanced, with some refurbishment within the existing pharmacy, the preliminary cost estimate for this work is approximately $250,000.

Recommended action

1. The Health Service Chief Executive seeks Board approval for the adoption of this report, as the basis for future infrastructure investment decisions for Gympie Hospital.

2. Following Board approval, immediate action is undertaken to ensure appropriate funding is ascertained to enable the building fit-out and relocation of the CT scanner to Gympie within the indicated timeframe.

3. That further prioritisation of the other initiatives listed within this report occurs and that formal processes commence in order to obtain the required enabling funding. It is acknowledged that funding for the initiatives listed will need to be sought through state-wide processes and therefore detailed planning and associated supporting documentation will need to be developed.

4. A realistic expectation that the highlighted initiatives will be delivered over a medium term horizon, not within the next financial year. The exception of this of course is the action to install the CT scanner.

5. This document needs to be viewed in the context of a document prepared at a point in time and therefore should be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that the established priorities remain valid and are not superseded by any emergent issue, service delivery enhancement opportunity, or future capital investment as part of a state-wide Total Asset Management Planning (TAMP) process.


11


Gympie Hospital12 Henry Street, Gympie, Queensland 4570

Ph: +61 7 5489 8444

healh.qld.gov.au/sunshinecoast

13

SCHHS Gympie Health Plan · February 2016. Gympie Hospital ... 2016 You are free to copy,...

Documents

Transcript of SCHHS Gympie Health Plan · February 2016. Gympie Hospital ... 2016 You are free to copy,...