The project will add up to 29 emergency treatment spaces to the emergency department. Credit: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A / Shutterstock.

The state government of Victoria, Australia, has begun early works to upgrade the emergency department (ED) at the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg.

On 11 September, Health Infrastructure Minister Mary-Anne Thomas confirmed that Australian company Built had been appointed to carry out the early project works.

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The early works will lay the foundation for the main construction works, which are expected to begin next year.

The A$275m ($183.9m) project aims to improve healthcare services for residents in Melbourne’s north-east region.

Up to 29 emergency treatment spaces will be added to the Austin Hospital, allowing it to treat around 30,000 additional emergency patients a year.

The initial works include enhancing the engineering infrastructure for Austin Hospital and Mercy Hospital towers, including installing a 13,000kg air-cooled chiller.

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The chiller will be lifted above Lance Townsend Building and facilitate the distribution of chilled water across the hospital site.

The preliminary work also includes building a plant deck to accommodate the air-cooled chiller and additional infrastructure improvements, such as upgrades to the existing medical gas systems.

Victoria Health Infrastructure Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said: “We’re getting on with delivering this much-needed upgrade to Austin Hospital’s ED – ensuring local families can access world class healthcare closer to home when they need it.

“This is a critical project that will support an extra 30,000 emergency patients each year in Melbourne’s east.”

The project is being managed by the Victorian Health Building Authority (VHBA) in collaboration with Austin Health.

Victoria Member Ivanhoe Anthony Carbines said: “With record demand in Austin’s busy ED, this is an important project that will ensure we can meet increasing health service needs of the community in Heidelberg and surrounding suburbs, now and into the future.

“This significant investment means when an emergency strikes, locals can be assured they have a world-class, modern emergency department closer to home.”