Delivering an international standard hospital for Papua New Guinea

Challenge

ANGAU Memorial Hospital is the second largest hospital in PNG and plays a critical role serving as a District Hospital for 149,000 people in Lae, a provincial hospital for the 675,000 people of Morobe Province, and a regional referral hospital for the 1.9 million residents of the Momase Region.

The Australian Government has committed AUD250 million to improve health services in Morobe Province through the ANGAU Memorial Hospital Redevelopment, a key investment in Australia’s development cooperation program with Papua New Guinea. Morobe is home to around 9 per cent of the PNG population, and the previous hospital services were not able to support the demand or provide the quality of care required for the diverse communities who live in Morobe and the wider Momase region.

JID is engaged as the managing contractor for Project Management and Program Delivery and is managing the design, construction and commission of the 21,000m2 redevelopment. There will be 14 new facilities, comprising clinical, back of house and working accommodation and delivered within the existing and operational hospital setting. The redevelopment will double the capacity of the ANGAU Hospital while maintaining the same cost to the PNG Government.

JID is dedicated to designing and delivering sustainable solutions therefore what began as an infrastructure project has evolved into a multidimensional, tailored development of hospital resources from operational management to capital upgrades.

Services and approach

JID developed a Business Case and Service Delivery Plan that set ANGAU up to operate effectively as a culturally relevant, regional referral hospital, delivered to budget, as part of a networked health system. The Business Case reflected JID’s commercial approach to achieve safe and sustainable growth in service delivery within a stabilised recurrent funding and realistic workforce framework. Governance, financial, operational and asset management systems were developed to ensure better utilisation, less wastage and a more consistent and reliable service offering.

During the planning and design phase, JID undertook intensive planning, value management and user group consultations to ensure that the redevelopment is fit for purpose, affordable and sustainable to operate and maintain. JID’s commissioning and change management program for the hospital created operational systems to ensure the new infrastructure translates into improved health outcomes in the future.

In addition to the hospital’s construction, JID is overseeing a comprehensive program of investment in capital, operational and workforce development to support the new facilities. This includes developing clinical and vocational programs for upskilling staff across all areas of hospital management, clinical services and maintenance to support long-term financial viability and sustainability.

JID works in close partnership with stakeholders including Provincial Health Authorities to plan, procure and implement appropriate asset and facilities management systems and services. Through this, we support local business and trades to build their knowledge and capacity to deliver to international standard and quality, reducing costs, increasing the Hospital’s longevity, and supporting continued improvement in health outcomes in the future.

Outcomes

The ANGAU Hospital redevelopment will double the capacity of the ANGAU Hospital providing international standard and health services to the people of the Momase and Highlands regions, offering integrated healthcare to over 182,000 hospital attendees annually.

To date, outcomes include:

• The original Service Delivery Plan (SDP) recommended a total footprint of 14,805m2 – we have already delivered 17,511m2 with an estimated 19,884m2 to be completed within Stage 1. We have already overdelivered by 13.6% against the planned footprint and will overdeliver by 34.3% by project completion.
• There are 303 existing points of care for patients—including outpatient care and consultation clinics—across the hospital; we have already delivered an extra 160, an over 52% increase. We have overdelivered from the SDP planned increase by 90 points of care.
• All planned services have been expanded and redeveloped. This includes Front of House, Urgent Care Clinics, Sterilising Services, Biomedical and Clinical Engineering, and Support Services (Back of House).
• The current site plan and finished buildings are future proof designed. Services are designed for the master plan footprint that considers any future scale up of hospital facilities, saving time and money in the long term.
• Staff satisfaction and training has increased with a new dedicated training space. The online training platform now has over 500 registered users with multiple online training modules developed and delivered. 
• Hospital staff regard the new facilities highly, in particular within the new Birthing Ward with increased staff patient ratio, improved patient flow, and facilities to allow male support people to be present.
  
• JID’s approach and delivery model has continued to over-deliver, while remaining under-budget from the original TN Values. We are still 40% under-budget and estimate a total delivery by the end of 2024 will be fully within budget.
  
• As part of ongoing review of its services, JID received the highest possible performance rating for a managing contractor against six core criteria including high standard of delivery; value for money through ethical, efficient, economical use of funds; collaborative with effective communication; risk management and policy alignment; demonstrated knowledge and leadership across personnel; and achievement of results, with effective support from Head/Regional office.