Article: Thousands of jobs in $1.8 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail click here!

Thousands of jobs in $1.8 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital project

Thousands of jobs in $1.8 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital project

    by: Peter Hall
    From: The Courier-Mail
    September 01, 2012 12:00AM

THOUSANDS of tradespeople and suppliers are being sought for the $1.8 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital project.

Site preparations will begin next month on the centrepiece of a world-class health precinct at Kawana.

The SCUH is expected to open with 450 beds in 2016 and grow to 738 beds by 2021.

It is being delivered as a public-private partnership and the winning consortium - Exemplar Health - comprises Lend Lease, Capella Capital, Siemens and Spotless.

Up to 2000 construction jobs will be created. Lend Lease will hold briefing sessions for specific trades, with the first to be held at Lake Kawana Community Centre on Monday from 3.30pm-5pm.

[ozbob]

This site will be problematic with sea level rises ...  Queenslander!

--> http://www.health.qld.gov.au/scuhospital/the_project-the_site.asp

[ozbob]

The Kawana site is only a metre or so above sea level.  It is a cyclone risk area as well, experiences in New Orleans resulted in patients being left to die. Inundation will put at risk patients lives, as power would be lost.

We know they botch transport infrastructure on a grand scale, but heck this is just madness this location for a hospital.

[somebody]

The Kawana site is only a metre or so above sea level.  It is a cyclone risk area as well, experiences in New Orleans resulted in patients being left to die. Inundation will put at risk patients lives, as power would be lost.

We know they botch transport infrastructure on a grand scale, but heck this is just madness this location for a hospital.

Hmm.  It's a bit away from the coast though.  I think in New Orleans it was mostly areas below sea level which were problematic.

I wonder what their risk assessment shows?  It seems odd.

[ozbob]

http://www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au/publications/understanding-floods/assets/sunshine-coast-daily-we-develop-our-own-risk-1-august-2011.pdf

... It raises serious questions about
the location of the proposed Sunshine
Coast University Hospital
with its recommendation that
"critical facilities, such as
emergency hospitals,
should ideally be located in
areas where they will not
flood and can operate
during a flood event ...

Seems not alone with concerns ...

I wouldn't build a house in a sea canal estate, let alone a major hospital adjacent to one ...

[ozbob]

On the other side, might be an opportunity for a local ferry service ... lol

You won't be able to go by bus as planned when it spills ..

[ozbob]

But it is a great demonstration of the Queenslander in full pelt action ...

Recent lessons from floods and cyclones are just ignored/forgotten about ... 

And we fret about bus stops in the City!  LOL

[somebody]

And we fret about bus stops in the City!  LOL

Insanity with no justification.  Just like putting a Hospital in a flood plain.

Queenslander!

[somebody]

Oh, and by the way, I'm not a Queenslander.

[#Metro]

Where else but Queensland!

[Gazza]

Aparently 1.1m is the worst case sea level rise (Frustrating that http://www.ozcoasts.gov.au/climate/sd_visual.jsp doesn't cover the SC yet)

I'd hope they just raise the site by a good meter or so to avoid any problems.

[ozbob]

Permanent sea level rise is just one issue, the important point is recent flood and cyclone reviews have all concluded critical infrastructure such as major hospitals need to be inland and away from flood and cyclone risks.   The site at Kawana is madness ...  in 1947 a cyclone did cross the coast at Caloundra, and the Sunshine Coast generally has had a lot of inundation related to cyclones as they track down the coast off shore. Tsunami is also an indirect risk to that location.

[SurfRail]

The minimum habitable floor level will have to be raised, otherwise it won't be compliant.

[colinw]

Government cannot claim ignorance. Their own investigation into potential sites for desalination plants identified flooding potential from storm surges at Kawana.

http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/security/pdf/desalination/appendix-b-preliminary-engineering-final-a2.pdf

B2.6 Site Specific Conditions – Kawana

...

B2.6.6 Flooding
The site is low lying and part of the site is likely to be waterlogged. Planning investigations
(Appendix A, Section A7.6) indicate that the site is also contained in Detailed Planning Area
4 (DPA 4). DPA 4 is low lying and subject to flooding.
Parts of the site are below the 1 in 100 and 1 in 200 year extreme water levels caused by
storm surge+tide+wave setup (2.5mAHD and 2.65mAHD respectively). Ground levels on
the site are between approximately 2.0 and 3.0m AHD indicating that parts of the site will
require fill to 1 in 100 year FGL. (See Section B4 for coastal flooding levels).

[somebody]

I wonder if there's an equivalent document for this hospital.

[ozbob]

There is a strategic failure here that is most alarming.  Critical infrastructure such as hospitals needs to be operating, particularly during adverse events such as coastal inundation as there are likely to be casualties.  Access also needs to be able to be achieved.

Goodness, if Kawana was not a suitable site for a de-salination plant it is hardly suitable for a major hospital!

This is mind-blowing the whole scenario. 

[ozbob]

And more building evidence of the disaster waiting ...

==========

Brisbanetimes --> Thousands of homes at risk from climate change: report

[Stillwater]

The Sunshine Coast Major Health Precinct (Major public hospital, private hospital beside it and a TAFE College offering nursing courses etc), together with patients and visitors, delivery people etc will attract 15,000 people a day.  Fifteeen thousand people coming and going ... every day.  A couple of buses and the promise of CAMCOS 20 years away doesn't cut it really.  And the government knows it.  And the local MPs who once promised to work as a team to devise an integrated transport action plan for the Sunny Coast.  Oh well, another broken promise. 

[Stillwater]

While there is a transit centre as part of the hospital, it is not conveniently located.  The official video emphasises the 'convenient car drop-off point' at the hospital entrance and the multi-level car park.