Page 6 - DEGW Annual Review 2009/10

The Royal Children’s Hospital

A collaborative model to align administrative

neighbourhoods workspace with new ways of delivering
modern medicine
activity hub

For 140 years, The Royal Children’s Hospital department, eight workshops with broad

(RCH) Melbourne has delivered world­class representation across disciplines, and an online

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paediatric care for its young patients, and is workplace performance survey involving 1,600

recognised internationally as a leading centre staff. DEGW additionally conducted an intensive

for research and education through its observation programme.

partnership with the Murdoch Children’s

quiet/private zone for individual work Working with DEGW, RCH staff also undertook
Research Institute and the University of

interactive zone for collaborative work storage assessments of their areas to help inform
departmental neighbourhood Melbourne.
storage requirements for administrative workspace

main access points

Since the hospital on the current site was designed in the new hospital. Exercises such as this were an

paths of access

shared activity hub space more than 40 years ago, the way children are opportunity for staff to think and talk about their
cared for in the hospital has changed. Today, when new workplace and understand how they needed

a child is an inpatient, families are encouraged to to change their work practices as a key

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‘The new RCH project is one stay and help care for their children, and there is component getting ready to move to the

of the biggest healthcare a stronger focus on teaching, research and health new hospital.

projects undertaken in prevention. For those reasons and, to meet the It also identified key concerns including sessional

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Australia. Companies such as needs growing population, the Victorian staff accommodation, access to meeting spaces,

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Government building a new RCH.

DEGW have provided a much privacy and confidentiality, future flexibility for

needed objective view and The new RCH is being built next door to the growth, and preservation of departmental identity.

helped us meet the challenge current site in Parkville. It will have new facilities From this research, DEGW recommended RCH

of the many changes faced that support innovative models of care centred adopt collaborative model – based on an open

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by the organisation during on child and family. In addition to innovative and plan office environment with fewer offices and

this time’ leading edge design, another key design feature more shared spaces – in non­clinical areas of the

of the new RCH is the separation of clinical and

Alex Campbell non­clinical space; ensuring administrative areas new hospital. The hospital is now working with

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Executive Director, are kept patient­free. staff understand how this new model can be

implemented most effectively.
New RCH Project

DEGW was engaged by RCH to conduct a The new RCH is an Aus $1 billion project being

broad consultative process throughout the delivered Public Private Partnership under

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hospital, make recommendations for the the Victorian Government’s Partnerships Victoria

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office accommodation in the new hospital and policy. The construction of the new hospital is

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develop change strategy for implementation.

on track and on budget and due to open at

The consultative process involved DEGW the end of 2011.

conducting 54 interviews with heads of

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