Sarah Courtney,Minister for Health
Keeping Tasmanians safe and secure is our highest priority as we continue to deal with COVID-19.
K-Block's ready to play its part in Tasmania's health system with patient admissions and departure services opening in the new state-of-the-art health facility next week.
On Monday, 20 April 2020, the Royal Hobart Hospital's Reception will open on K-Block's Ground Floor.
New corridors between the hospital building and the new K-Block will be opened to support patient and staff movements.
On Tuesday 21 April 2020, the Patient Admissions and the Transit Lounge will also open on the Ground Floor.
Patients with a planned admission will go to K-Block for their initial interview where their personal details will be confirmed and their medical record prepared for admission.
K-Block's expanded Transit Lounge will open with 10 recliners, four bed spaces, a consulting room and treatment room.
This will help reduce pressure on the Emergency Department (ED) by providing a safe clinical area for patients no longer in need of acute emergency services until their inpatient bed is prepared for them or they are collected or moved to a residential care facility, for example.
Staff are working tirelessly to open inpatient wards and services in K-Block over coming weeks that will provide an additional 44 beds in the Royal Hobart Hospital.
The safety of patients and staff is our priority and K-Block has been designed using best practice control infection prevention and control measures.
The capacity to provide treatment and care of infectious patients will significantly expand as more wards open with K-Block providing a total of 22 dedicated negative pressure rooms.
Hand hygiene stations are located at the entrance/exit of each ward, personal protective equipment bays are located throughout wards, furnishings, fittings and surfaces are designed to be easily cleaned and even lift buttons have modern anti-bacterial surfaces.
We understand the community interest in K-Block and will be providing updates including images of the new facility on the project's webpage as we can.
The $689 million RHH Redevelopment is Tasmania's largest ever health infrastructure project and we are very proud to have delivered it for the Tasmanian community.
With the ongoing challenge of coronavirus, this part of the redevelopment will allow our health professionals and patients access to a state-of-the-art facility when they need it most. Other wards of K-Block are due to come online very soon, however we will continue to closely monitor the impact of coronavirus in Tasmania and ensure that our plans to open K-block are responsive to emerging clinical needs and the COVID-19 pandemic escalation plans in place across the THS.
I would like thank the hundreds of people who have worked to bring the redevelopment on line. While K-block will provide welcome capacity during the biggest health challenge ever faced by Tasmania, it will also ensure that we have world-class facilities for our community in years to come.
