With only 124 days to go before it opens, the new Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) impressed the Hon David Davis, MP, Minister for Health this morning as he toured the state-of-the-art facility.
The $1 billion project has been seven years in the making and construction workers are now applying the final touches inside the building.
The Minister visited key areas of the hospital, including Emergency, Theatres, Intensive Care, the Cardiac Surgery ward and Specialist Clinics (outpatients).
The new RCH has been designed with patients and families in mind.
The central hub of the hospital, named Main Street, is based on the concept of a small country town. This light-filled atrium runs through the middle of the hospital from Flemington Road to Royal Park, and links directly to all hospital areas, including Emergency.
Inside the Emergency waiting area, a beautiful two-storey coral reef aquarium is ready to be filled with fish. It is designed to provide welcome distraction to children and families.
The Specialist Clinics are conveniently located off Main Street and also contain distraction features such as landscaped courtyards for children to play.
Minister Davis was particularly impressed with the meerkat enclosure, which is being constructed, saying it will provide enthusiasm, warmth and enjoyment to patients during difficult times.
“Everywhere you look is another surprise, another point of detail that you can see will make the hospital work better for children and their families,” he said.
RCH CEO Professor Christine Kilpatrick agreed with the Minister’s sentiments.
“The eye for detail is astonishing for both parents and their families,” she said.
“I had the privilege in March last year to visit a number of hospitals in the US, and the Great Ormond Street Hospital in the UK, and I can honestly say I have not seen anything of this standard.”
For more information on the new RCH, visit www.newrch.vic.gov.au.
Read the Herald Sun article ‘A look inside our new $1b hospital’.
Read the Age article ‘Hospital to fire the senses’.
