The South Australian government will spend $37 million in Thursday's state budget to recruit 48 extra doctors and 12 more nurses for Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital.
The commitment is part of Labor's election promise to hire 100 more doctors and 300 nurses across the health system to relieve pressure on an under-resourced and over-stretched workforce.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said there had been too many stories of delayed care for children.
"Nothing is more important than ensuring that in critical areas such as children's cancer and mental health that we have the resources we need for timely care," he said on Tuesday.
"More doctors and nurses will help to ease the pressure on the existing staff and provide children with the care that they need."
The extra doctors will be brought on over a four-year period, with 10 starting this year.
Recruitment is underway in consultation with clinicians to determine the areas of most need.
They will work in areas such as cancer, cardiology, intensive care, respiratory, renal, dermatology, mental health and neurology, rheumatology and general paediatric medicine.
Funding for the 12 specialty nurses will start from July 2022 to meet the urgent need for additional paediatric support.
The government said the hospital had been neglected with workforce shortages causing significant delays for children who needed treatment and appointments, and long delays in the emergency department.
"This $37 million funding boost is a massive injection in providing for timely care for our sickest children in the state," Health Minister Chris Picton said.
