Time for answers on Redcliffe Hospital expansion future

Main photo: Angelico Jarvis Photography

It remains unclear when work will resume on the Redcliffe Hospital expansion project, with the site now devoid of workers and heavy equipment.

This week, Moreton Daily asked Health Minister Tim Nicholls' office a series of questions in an attempt to clarify if work had finished on stage one and what was next for the $1.1billion project.

The Redcliffe Hospital expansion project is the biggest in Queensland.

Preparatory work had started, with construction of a nine-storey clinical services building the first element expected in the project plan developed by the previous Labor State Government.

The full project was expected to deliver 204 new beds, ambulatory care and a significant expansion of existing services including theatres, birthing, endoscopy and a range of other clinical and support services.

It was expected to be finished in 2028, weather and construction conditions permitting.

Redcliffe Hospital Executive Director Cang Dang told Moreton Daily last September the development would bring care closer to home for many patients and hopefully meet increasing demand due to huge population growth in recent years which is expected to continue.

Late last year, the new LNP State Government appointed a team led by hospital infrastructure specialist Sam Sangster to “scrutinise delivery timelines and construction sector constraints to save Queensland’s Hospital Capacity Expansion Program”.

It said the cost of delivering 11 critical projects, which include Redcliffe Hospital’s expansion, had “blown out by billions”.

A spokesman for Minister Nicholls told Moreton Daily on March 19 the report resulting from the Sangster Review had been completed and provided to Cabinet but could not say when the recommendations would be released.

On April 7, we asked the following questions in a bid to find out if, and when, work will resume and if there have been changes to the redevelopment plan.

Questions asked by Moreton Daily

1. Has worked stopped on the Redcliffe Hospital redevelopment?
2. Why has it stopped?
3. Is stage one complete?
4. What has stage one delivered?
5. When is the next stage expected to begin?
6. What will the next stage deliver?
7. Will the full project go ahead as expected or will there be changes to what the community is expecting (204 new beds, ambulatory care and a significant expansion of existing services including theatres, birthing, endoscopy and a range of other clinical and support services)?
8. The expansion was expected to be finished in 2028, weather and construction conditions permitting ... will this still be the case?
9. When can the community expect to know Cabinet’s decision regarding the Sangster Review’s recommendations?
10. Will the full review be made public and when?

Response from Minister Tim Nicholls' office

Moreton Daily received the following response from the Minister’s spokesman on April 9.

He said: “once the recommendations of the Sangster Review have been considered by Cabinet, the review and the response to the recommendations about how to save the Capacity Expansion Program will be released”.

The spokesman said the Government was committed to the delivering the Capacity Expansion Program, including the Redcliffe Hospital Expansion.

“Labor's inability to engage and collaborate with clinicians during planning has also caused scope oversights and omissions, including paediatric outpatient services, a mortuary, and education and training spaces,” he said.

“We are saving the CEP from Labor’s mismanagement and will deliver more beds sooner. The review will be considered by Government to determine the next steps for saving the CEP.”