Sleep services moving to Queen Elizabeth Hospital from the RAH

Overnight sleep services will go from the $2.4 billion, 800-bed Royal Adelaide Hospital because there is no room – and renovations would be too expensive as administrators try to rein in the ballooning budget deficit.

An outpatient service will remain but the bulk of work including overnight stays to monitor high-risk patients will be consolidated at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital if recommendations from a consultation paper sent to staff are accepted.

The Central Adelaide Local Heath Network (CALHN) which runs both hospitals – and is now being overhauled financially by administrators KordaMentha – operates sleep services at both sites.

A review by consultants Carramar notes these range from outpatient visits to overnight stays for high-risk patients, usually those with respiratory failure requiring investigation and complex management.

“The RAH Sleep Service has been unable to undertake elective overnight sleep studies since the move to the new RAH as dedicated overnight sleep monitored beds were not planned for the RAH,” the consultant’s report states.

It goes on to say the RAH is not in a “financial position” to have renovations, saying: “In the current economic climate, CALHN is in a financial position where it needs to be particularly careful in committing to unplanned capital works, or supporting an increase in costs associated with furniture, fittings and equipment.”

The QEH now has six overnight beds providing 1380 nights of monitoring per year.

CALHN chief executive Lesley Dwyer said: “I can reassure patients that, whatever the outcome (of the consultation), they will continue to have access to inpatient sleep services at CALHN and there will be no change to the level of service they currently receive.

“Collaboration across all our sites is key to providing better, more efficient care for our patients resulting in better outcomes.”

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said it was “disappointing that the Minister has not listened to the doctors and scientists who advised him of the importance of sleep services at the RAH.

“More than 2000 clinicians and patients have told Minister Wade they view these services as vitally important, and they have been ignored,” he said.

“There doesn’t appear to be any additional capacity at the QEH to take these patients, so we are hearing concerns that this will lead to more delays.”

Health Minister Stephen Wade said Labor built the RAH with no space for sleep labs.