A temporary ward being built to house Royal Hobart Hospital patients during a $657 million redevelopment will not have enough beds, doctors have warned.
The 54-bed ward is expected to house patients from January, while the hospital’s B-block is knocked down.
The Australian Medical Association’s Tim Greenaway said the hospital already struggles with bed shortages in busy periods, and the temporary ward is unlikely to ease the burden.
“The concern that we have with the demountable building and those 54 beds is that it is not going to adequately compensate for the destruction of B-block,” Prof Greenaway said.
“These concerns have been raised by management and to management’s credit they are working to come up with interim solutions to allow, for example, possible additional beds in slow-stream rehab patients perhaps up at the repat hospital.”
Demolition work resumed at the site earlier this year after the Government called a halt and reviewed the project because of cost blowouts it blamed on the previous Labor government.
The full redevelopment is expected to be finished by the end of 2018.