Overview
Summary
The Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) is designed to be a tertiary hub for the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service (SCHHS) and surrounding region and is the first new, not replacement, hospital within Australia for the past 20 years. SCUH provides a comprehensive range of tertiary admitted patient and outpatient services for adults and children as well as education and research. The SCUH Program ensured that the hospital and health service made the most of the opportunity that the new hospital gave to transform the way healthcare is delivered on the Sunshine Coast, a once in a generation opportunity. It also ensured that the health service was ready and services were reconfigured or established to deliver the full scope of services from early 2017.
The project was a winner in the Delivering Healthcare category at the 2017 Queensland Health Awards for Excellence.
Partnerships
The SCUH is being delivered by the Exemplar Health consortium as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and was Queensland's first public hospital built under the PPP model. The consortium members were:
- Lendlease Project Management and Construction - Design and Construction Contractor
- Spotless - Facilities Management Provider
- Capella Capital - Infrastructure Developer and Financial Arranger
- Siemens Project Ventures - Equity Investor
- Stantec, Rice Daubney, Architectus and Aurecon – Design Team.
Key dates
Jan 2017 - Dec 2017
Implementation sites
Sunshine Coast University Hospital
Aim
To deliver better care for individuals, better health for the Sunshine Coast population and better use of resources for healthcare.
Benefits
- Enhance the experience and health outcomes with people accessing our services (safe, effective, patient centred, timely, efficient and equitable)
- Improved the health of our population
- Better use of resources for the benefit of our communities
- Build capability across our organisation and shared communities of practice.
Background
SCUH is a new public tertiary teaching hospital, developed by the Queensland Government to meet growing demand for hospital services in the region. SCUH is the centrepiece of the SCHHS’s network of hospitals which includes Nambour General Hospital, Caloundra Health Service, Gympie Hospital, Maleny Soldiers Memorial Hospital and a comprehensive range of community and primary health services.
Solutions implemented
The SCUH Program was delivered through four program delivery teams and a Program Management Office (PMO). The four program delivery teams were: Operational Commissioning, Building Commissioning, ICT and Commercial and Contract Management. Without the commitment and dedication from the SCUH Program teams, SCHHS staff, executive leadership and Health Service Chief Executive, the safe and seamless transition and opening of SCUH would not have been achievable.
Evaluation and results
The SCUH opened as planned in late March 2017 with approximately 450 inpatient beds (overnight) and is expected to expand to 738 inpatient beds (day and overnight) by the end of 2021. The SCUH Program, in close collaboration with the wider SCHHS was responsible for the successful delivery and opening of SCUH on time and under budget.
Lessons learnt
- Building and maintaining a positive and collaborative relationship with the builder is of critical importance
- Sponsors need clear lines of accountability and sufficient availability to be able to manage their workload effectively
- BAU procurement processes and delegations may not provide the turnaround needed in a project context
- Do not underestimate commissioning and transitioning costs.
Further Reading
Sunshine Coast University Hospital Project Delivery Unit
Key contact
Scott Lisle
Executive Director SCUH Program
Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service