Children deserve better than temporary roadside treatment

Treating children in roadside shipping containers appears to be the Labor Government’s only plan for addressing pressure at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

The nine pods were parked on Sir Edwin Smith Avenue at North Adelaide as a temporary measure during the pandemic, but years later they remain in place.

During an Estimates hearing on Friday, Health Minister Blair Boyer was unable to answer simple questions about the pods, including:

• Are children being treated in the pods?
• What are the pods currently being used for?
• When does the permit allowing the pods to occupy Sir Edwin Smith Avenue expire?
• Will the Government seek an extension of that permit?
• Is it acceptable for children to be treated in a shipping container in the middle of the road?

(Video from Estimates can be downloaded here)

A permit from the Adelaide City Council allows the pods to remain on Sir Edwin Smith Avenue until 31 December this year.

In 2024, the council declined a request for the permit to be extended until 2031, with Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith describing the current arrangement as a “traffic hazard” and an “eyesore”.

State Liberal Leader Ashton Hurn said the hospital’s emergency department is under incredible strain and a more suitable plan is needed.

“When less than half of children requiring urgent emergency care are being seen within clinically recommended timeframes, every bed becomes critical,” Mrs Hurn said.

“These pods were meant to be a temporary pandemic measure, and the fact they’re still here years and years later is ugly and it is unacceptable.

“Labor appears to have no plan to bridge the gap while the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital continues to drift.”

Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing Jack Batty said South Australian children deserved better than being treated in temporary roadside facilities years after the pandemic had ended.

"Years later, they're still sitting on a public road because the current hospital has run out of room and the new Women's and Children's Hospital remains stuck in limbo,” Mr Batty said.

"Twelve years after Labor first promised a new Women's and Children's Hospital, South Australians still don't know the final design, the final cost or whether it will be delivered on time.

"Every delay means more money being poured into ageing infrastructure and more pressure on frontline staff trying to care for sick children in makeshift facilities.”

Media Contact: Ben Avery 0439 955 254