Townsville Hospital Expansion, North Block
Location:
Townsville
Value:
$66.5 million - North Block and $25 million - Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit
Client:
Queensland Health
Capability:
Health
Contract Type:
Managing Contractor
Start Date:
January 2012
Duration:
January 2010 to July 2012
Thiess has been awarded the Stage 1 contract to design and construct Townsville Hospital’s new North Block and integrate the building with existing hospital departments. This project will provide a minimum of 40 additional beds as part of the
Queensland Government’s 100-bed commitment made in 2006.
The expanded emergency department will more than double its current capacity and make it the largest in Queensland. This will provide for future growth in the area and improve community access to health services. In addition, Thiess was appointed to deliver Stage 2, which involves incorporating the expanded Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit into the existing Acute Care Block following the relocation of the Intensive Care Unit into the North Block.
The four-storey Stage 1 North Block hospital wing will be located to the north of the existing acute care wing and involve construction of:
- an expanded Emergency Department on the ground floor that will double its current capacity and provide 37 additional treatment spaces, making it the biggest in Queensland
- the redevelopment of the medical imaging unit located on the ground floor and the provision of a minimum of 40 additional beds
- a maternity ward on level one
- a new Intensive Care Unit on level two of the North Block
- a plant room and shell space on the third floor
The second stage includes decanting the existing emergency department and Intensive Care Unit with the new building and refurbishment of the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit and Special Care Baby Unit.
The biggest challenge on site revolves around constructing a new building that adjoins the existing hospital while maintaining 24 hour access, seven days a week for the emergency department. Operating theatres, which are sensitive to vibrations, and where doctors perform delicate procedures such as eye surgery, also adjoin the construction.
The project team has derived methods to reduce the vibrations to the adjoining hospital. Concrete saws are utilised instead of jack hammers, providing a solution to meet hospital demands.
The project utilises a single tower crane with a 70m jib which reaches all parts of the building and eliminates road closures and interruptions associated with mobile cranes on the roadway.
