Doctors and nurses say patient care could be put at risk if the State Government pushes ahead with plans to shift the infectious diseases unit out of the Royal Adelaide Hospital. The proposed move follows a government decision to relinquish hospital space back to the private sector.
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00:00South Australia's doctor and nurses unions have gone to the employment tribunal in a
00:06bid to stop the infectious diseases unit from being moved out of the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
00:11This unit cares for patients with conditions such as hepatitis and HIV and helped steer
00:17the state through the COVID pandemic.
00:19The state government is planning to move the unit across the road by the end of next month
00:24and the tribunal's been told that's because there isn't enough space inside the Royal
00:28Adelaide Hospital to fit all public health services.
00:31The government previously subleased a space inside the hospital from a private health
00:35consortium but it decided not to renew the contract with a local health network director
00:40telling the tribunal that cost was the main driver.
00:44While the government claims no final decision has been reached on where the unit will go,
00:49doctors and nurses say a move out of the hospital could compromise patient care.
00:53A lawyer representing the government has described the challenge of trying to fit all
01:12health services within the hospital as an enormous Tetris puzzle.
01:16The tribunal is expected to hand down a decision next week.