$940m RPA redevelopment to expand Paediatric Unit
Construction of the new $940 million Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is progressing, with the first concrete slab pour completed for the new 15-storey East Tower, marking a major milestone.
The new East Tower will house the paediatric unit, ante and postnatal maternity units, delivery and expanded neonatal intensive care services, and expanded and enhanced intensive care services.
Once complete, the new paediatric unit will provide staff with modern, spacious facilities and patients and visitors will enjoy improved amenities with panoramic views of the city skyline from patient rooms and shared spaces.
Features of the new paediatric unit will include:
- Expanded in-patient ward accommodation
- 14 additional beds, including a 4-bed adolescent unit and 4 short-stay beds.
- A dedicated patient recreation room and playroom
- family zone with ensuite
- collocated parenting room.
- collocated paediatric short-stay unit and adolescent unit
- an enclosed courtyard designed to provide natural ventilation and outdoor access.
- Staff meeting and consultation rooms
- a milk preparation room
- two clinical work rooms and increased workspace to support day-to-day operations and multidisciplinary collaboration.
These purpose-built spaces and features are designed to support care and staff by providing a more functional, family-friendly environment, supporting smoother workflows and enabling more responsive and compassionate care.
Rooms have been designed to ensure privacy and will support a more comfortable and therapeutic hospital experience. The East Tower will also offer high-amenity facilities that promote staff collaboration and wellbeing, reflecting the future of healthcare design and delivery.
Other features of the $940 million redevelopment will include:
- expanded and enhanced Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit
- state-of-the-art operating theatres
- enhanced maternity services
- expanded and improved adult in-patient ward accommodation
- increased interventional and imaging services
- improved roads, signage and landscaping throughout the hospital
- new northern arrival and new open garden courtyard.
Construction onsite is continuing, with the central lift core reaching level nine and the first tower crane installed. Works are also under way on the new northern entrance off Johns Hopkins Drive, which will feature a cultural garden, seating, a patient drop-off and improved pedestrian access.
Staff and the community are encouraged to stay up to date with the latest project news and information by visiting the project website: www.nsw.gov.au/rpa-redevelopment
The project is expected to be completed in 2028/2029.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park:
“The first slab concrete pour for the new East Tower not only represents construction progress, but also brings us closer to delivering a purpose-built hospital environment that supports patient care, staff wellbeing and innovative health service delivery.
“The NSW Government has committed $940 million to the redevelopment of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to deliver a new hospital building and refurbishment of existing spaces.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Summer Hill, Jo Haylen:
“The redevelopment will further strengthen RPA as a leading hospital in NSW, delivering high quality, responsive and critical services to the local community now and into the future.
“This is the most significant investment in RPA’s 140-year history to support the world-leading services provided at RPA for the 740,000 people who live in Sydney Local Health District and the more than 1 million people who come into the Sydney Local Health District each day to work, study and visit.”