Construction has begun on the new Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) following the groundbreaking ceremony.

 

The RAH will be one of the largest hospitals in the world to be planned and built from scratch.

 

Health Minister John Hill said, “The new hospital is an important part of our state-wide health reforms and has been designed to adapt to the changing needs of the population.

 

“The single rooms for patients will revolutionise care, protecting patients from cross-infection and providing them with a calm and private space in which to recover,” Mr Hill said.

 

“The use of technology, including robotics to help with manual tasks, will allow staff to concentrate on caring for patients at the bedside and make the new RAH more efficient and more effective

 

Work to prepare the site for construction has begun, including bulk excavations and the new underground services like sewerage pipes. 

 

By the end of the year, all the remaining railway sleepers and ballast will be removed, work will start on a retaining wall along the North Terrace side of the site and the area will be remediated, removing and treating soil contaminated during the site’s previous use as rail yards.

 

Soil testing of the remaining areas of the site is complete and the results have not shown anything present that would not be expected on a former rail yard of this size and age. 

 

The site will be fully remediated in accordance with guidelines laid down and regulated by the Environment Protection Authority and under the watch of an independent auditor.