Construction work on the final stage of Wyong Hospital’s $200M refurbishment will start mid-2023 to provide a cancer day unit, women’s clinics, an Aboriginal Health unit and carer support unit.
Completion is expected by mid to late 2024.
The announcement came during a visit by NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet last Friday to officially open the newly refurbished section of Wyong Hospital, Block H.
The $200M redevelopment delivers a new six-storey hospital building which houses state-of-the-art clinical spaces, a new and expanded emergency department and intensive care unit.
Minister for Regional Health, Bronnie Taylor, said Block H also included an expanded medical imaging department featuring Wyong Hospital’s first MRI service, which is set to be operational early next year.
“The expanded medical imaging department includes an additional CT scanner, x-ray machine and ultrasound room and these services make a real difference, providing services locally to ensure people no longer have to travel outside of the region to access the treatment they need,” she said.
Other features of Block H include 60 additional inpatient beds, a new outpatient paediatric unit and an expanded medical assessment unit.
Redevelopment of the existing hospital building has also delivered an additional operating theatre and an expanded transit lounge and medical day unit.
Parliamentary Secretary for Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said the 2022-23 NSW Budget allowed the scope of refurbishment works to be further expanded to include the cancer unit, women’s clinics, Aboriginal health unit and carer support unit.
The Premier said it was vital to expand Wyong Hospital in order to meet the needs of the Central Coast population which is expected to grow by more than 95,000 people by 2041.
“The hospital expansion will increase capacity to support staff to care for patients more effectively and efficiently and to meet the needs of the local community well into the future,” he said.
Shadow Minister for Central Coast and Wyong MP, David Harris, said opening the new additions was good news, however, it came as the latest data from the Bureau of Health revealed issues in bed block, ambulance banking and emergency department wait times.
“This data confirms what health workers are telling us – the system is not coping and needs to be addressed,” he said.
“I’d hoped the Premier would deliver some solutions while cutting ribbons at Wyong (last Friday) – such as matching Labor’s pledge to have safe staffing levels.
“More than 60 percent of Gosford emergency department patients and a majority of Wyong emergency department patients wait over four hours for treatment.
“The hospital is faced with a staffing and funding crisis every day which means some of the new additions at Wyong couldn’t actually be used.
“There is a proposal to significantly cut full-time-equivalent positions in both medical imaging and pharmacy and nurses are constantly overwhelmed and face physical assault and short staffing on shifts,” he said.
Harris said NSW Labor had committed to scrap the current outdated rostering system and replace it with an enforceable, minimum shift by shift staffing model, with improvements to dedicated specialty areas, such as emergency departments, from mid-2023.
“Labor has also committed to removing wage caps and allow staff to return to a fair bargaining system again,” Harris said.
“Premier Perrottet needs to commit to these changes too or having shiny new buildings won’t improve patient safety nor address the staffing issues,” Harris said.
Sue Murray