The Lyell McEwin Hospital facilities are the centrepiece of the Playford Health Precinct clustering public and private health services serving the local community. One of three tertiary hospitals in South Australia, the Emergency Department expansion provided capacity in response to the rapidly growing northern suburbs of Adelaide providing modern facilities that deliver patient care closer to home.

The project involved an additional 1,900m2 of emergency clinical floor space, increased resuscitation and triage capabilities, as well as dedicated paediatric assessment and treatment spaces. The project doubled the hospital’s Emergency Department capacity to 72 treatment spaces.

The new Emergency Department achieves a Seismic Importance Level 4 (IL-4) rating, providing life safety for a 1 in 1000 seismic event and immediate post-disaster functionality for a 1 in 500 event. The project included five new resuscitation rooms, an eight-bed paediatric ward, an eight-bed mental health short-stay unit with courtyard, a new ambulance canopy incorporating bulk decontamination facilities, and the refurbishment of the existing ED to provide 13 Acute and five See & Treat bays with pandemic upgrades. Supporting infrastructure included new plant and communications rooms, with distinctive curved glass and precast external features and automated glazed louvres for stair pressurisation.

The Lyell McEwin Hospital facilities are the centrepiece of the Playford Health Precinct development clustering public and private health services to serve the community.