Victorian children will receive faster world-class care as part of the Andrews Labor Government’s major redevelopment of the Royal Children’s Hospital’s emergency department and high-dependency inpatient unit.

Minister for Health Martin Foley today announced the appointment of the builder for the first stage of a $41 million expansion of the hospital – ensuring families from all over Victoria have access to the very best treatment and care.

With the state’s busiest paediatric emergency department, often experiencing more than 300 presentations a day, additional capacity will help improve wait times and enable the hospital to meet increased demand for specialist paediatric treatment and care.

The redevelopment will create around 120 construction industry jobs and includes features to combat the spread of COVID-19 – such as improvements to ventilation, air conditioning systems, engineering services and heating.

The project will also deliver upgraded staff rooms, a new canopy at the entrance to the emergency department and a purpose-built sensory room to provide children and families with a calming space to receive treatment.

The first stage of the expansion will add a 30-bed high-dependency inpatient unit (HDU) catering for young patients with a range of different illnesses, including cancer. Kane Constructions has been appointed to deliver the HDU upgrade, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

The second stage will deliver a bigger and better Emergency Department, boosting capacity by adding an extra 20 emergency clinical treatment spaces.

Designs for the second stage of the redevelopment were also released today and reveal a welcoming, child-friendly environment with better workflows for more positive staff and patient experiences. Construction on the second stage of the project is expected to get underway in mid-2022.

The hospital has become one of the world’s leading institutions for paediatric health, attracting patients with the highest needs from around the globe. It’s also an important hospital in paediatric training and research.