More than 1800 clinicians, nurses and other staff are putting the final touches on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s new five-storey clinical services building (pictured above left) before it opens on Wednesday.

The $314 million expansion will add 67-beds to South Australia’s busy hospital system.

The building – named Kangkanthi which means ‘to care’ in the Kaurna language – includes 52 new inpatient beds and a 46-treatment bay emergency department, an increase of almost 50 per cent on the capacity of the hospital’s old ED.

The new ED also has a three-bed rapid assessment zone to provide early investigation and treatment to fast-track patients.

A four-bed assessment area will separately provide a safe, therapeutic environment for mental health patients who require extended assessment and treatment.

Other features of the 27,000sq m space include a 14-bed intensive care unit, a new MRI machine and two CT scanners. A new cardiac catheter lab and procedural suite will be a key part of improved clinical support services, which also include expanded medical imaging and pathology.

The 52-bed rehabilitation facility, located on levels three and four of Kangkanthi, will pave the way for the QEH to be a key provider of inpatient general rehabilitation services for patients recovering from a stroke, burns, an amputation or orthopaedic concerns.

Kangkanthi is also equipped with contemporary therapy spaces on each rehabilitation ward, consisting of single bedrooms each with their own ensuite and specialised features such as integrated ceiling lifters.

There are 12 state-of-the-art operating theatres and a new central sterilisation service for theatre instruments.

Kangkanthi, which has been awarded a 6-star In-house Green Rating Assessment Tool score for design and construction, will be one of the first major healthcare building in Australia to be all-electric, with no natural gas used within the building.

The opening comes as the hospital celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.

The QEH opened in 1954 as a maternity hospital and expanded its services, becoming a general hospital in 1959. The hospital has a proud history that includes:

• First unit in Australia to perform a successful kidney transplant in 1964.
• First teaching hospital in South Australia to be accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards.
• First IVF baby in South Australia was born at the QEH in 1983.
• First hospital in South Australia to appoint a cardiac nurse practitioner.

The space created in the old ED is being turned into a new Hospital Avoidance Hub, set to open in coming months.

Central Adelaide Local Health Network Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Kathryn Zeitz said many people had been part of the QEH’s journey since it opened 70 years ago.

“Stories of medical innovation and ground-breaking research, leadership, love, and commitment to care have made the QEH what it is today,” Dr Zeitz said.

“Engagement with health professionals and the community, including Aboriginal consumers, has been at the forefront of all planning and design of the new building to ensure the redevelopment reflects the needs of the western suburbs now and into the future.

“Thank you to the many staff and consumers who have contributed to this amazing project. It will support a strong culture of world-class care, teaching, learning, and innovative research for the QEH.”