A NEW emergency department, rehabilitation unit and larger children's inpatient unit was officially opened at Logan Hospital on Friday.
Health Minister Lawrence Springborg, Metro South Health board chairman Terry White AO and Forde MP Bert van Manen, on behalf of Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton, opened the $145.24 million building, which has been under construction for the past two and a half years.
A tour of the emergency department's facilities was conducted after the opening.
The new co-located adult and children's emergency departments are three times the size of the previous department, with 30 additional treatment space and eight paediatric short-stay beds.
The children's emergency department also has a parent lounge, chill out room and a dedicated procedure room.
The adults emergency department has five resuscitation rooms, up from three, two procedure rooms, of which one is an isolation room, and a de-escalation room, where challenging patients can be treated safely before being let onto the ward.
It also has a unit dedicated to emergency medical imaging, with a CT scanner, two x-ray rooms and an ultrasound room.
Mr Springborg said the new, larger adult and children's emergency departments were future-proofing what was already one of the state's busiest emergency departments.
"Nearly 75,000 patients walk through the doors of Logan Hospital’s emergency department each year and one quarter of those presentations are children," he said.
"This new facility means more patients will be treated closer to home, receive even better care and ideally, recover quicker.
"New housing developments throughout Logan City and beyond are predicted to see the City's population grow by two and a half per cent each year between now and 2031, so this facility is very timely."
The new rehabilitation unit, set to take in its first patients on November 19, is a first for Logan Hospital and has 24 new subacute beds, day therapy and a gym.
The hospital's expanded children's inpatient unit, which will have 14 additional beds and six outpatient rooms, will open on December 9.
As part of the new building 300 car parks have also been created.
Mr White said the opening of the new building was a very significant moment in Logan Hospital's history.
"Local parents can now bring their children to a dedicated children's emergency department much closer to home and rehabilitation patients can receive the care they need without the need to drive significant distances and transfer to other facilities," he said.
