SHAPE has delivered the new Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) William Creek Community Health Centre in South Australia, designed to house Australia’s first virtual emergency centre. The landmark project was made possible through modular construction, with majority of the work undertaken in SHAPE’s manufacturing facility in Adelaide and transported and installed onsite.
RFDS is a national health organisation which delivers primary healthcare and 24-hour emergency services for those living in in rural and remote Australia. The RFDS William Creek Community Health Centre is purposefully designed to provide 24/7 medical and emergency care with telehealth services available during unstaffed hours.
Prior to this new health hub, the remote town and community of around 20 people which welcomes more than 26,000 tourists each year, had to receive health services from fly-in RFDS teams at the William Creek Hotel. The new centre provides a fully equipped patient care space for RFDS teams to conduct regular fly-in health consultations, such as oral and mental health, and allied health services.
The centre also features an emergency space with telehealth communication technology, available to patients in medical emergencies to contact the RFDS, a community space with a waiting area and accessible toilet, and direct access to William Creek Airport for RFDS aeromedical retrieval crews.
Due to remote location of William Creek, modular construction methods were an appropriate choice for the new health centre. During the construction of the modules in SHAPE’s manufacturing facility in Adelaide, RFDS and SHAPE were able to inspect the build, reducing the amount of time they needed to be on site.
The modular team at SHAPE also undertook siteworks in preparation for the module installation phase, and delivered new footings, earthworks and services upgrades including the installation of water treatment infrastructure. The team transported the four modules more than 820 kilometres north of Adelaide, including over 200 kilometres of unsealed road. Once on site, the modules were installed within just eight hours.
"The RFDS William Creek Community Health Centre exemplifies the incredible capabilities of modular construction for remote healthcare projects."
Cameron Aitken, Group Manager – Modular at SHAPE, said: “The RFDS William Creek Community Health Centre exemplifies the incredible capabilities of modular construction for remote healthcare projects. This method guaranteed the team’s ability to build in a remote location, and expediated the process by producing the modules in our manufacturing facility in Adelaide. The team not only ensured the satisfaction of the RFDS by allowing them to inspect the building before its arrival to site, but they also provided a high-quality, flexible space which caters to diverse requirements.
“A huge thank you to our modular team, Das Studio who assisted in the design, and our partners who were involved in the project. Working with the RFDS has been a fantastic opportunity for our team, and it’s rewarding to have provided a safe, secure, and private environment to treat patients in the local community of William Creek.”
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