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The Cairns Base Hospital Emergency Department was named Queensland’s second most under pressure emergency department by the Australian Medical Association in 2008. Following this, Arup was engaged to provide specialist expertise and led a multidisciplinary team in the much needed upgrade.
Under our project management, and during the design and construction stage of the redevelopment, the ED increased from 30 to 52 treatment spaces including 12 short-term fast-track beds. This was achieved through complex staging whilst keeping the ED fully operational 24/7 and with no reduction in clinical service capacity.
Our experienced team of professional project managers led and facilitated staged planning and risk assessment involving the entire project team and stakeholders to identify staff and patient safety requirements. From this we developed detailed implementation plans to enable the ED to remain fully operational which were then integrated with the procurement strategy and contract documentation to drive the client’s requirements for clinical service continuity.
This project demonstrates how positive clinical staff involvement during planning, design, procurement and construction phases can result in decreased stress and increased safety for patients and staff as well as improved efficiency in clinical service delivery.
