Staffing update as NSW Premier and Minister for Health visit new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital | PS News
Progress of the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital in Moruya. Photo: Supplied. NSW Premier Chris Minns and NSW Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park visited the construction sites of the $330 million Eurobodalla. . .
Progress of the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital in Moruya. Photo: Supplied. NSW Premier Chris Minns and NSW Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park visited the construction sites of the $330 million Eurobodalla Regional Hospital and Batemans Bay Community Health facility last week, with the recruitment of staff for the hospital a point of discussion. Current work on the new Level 4 hospital includes upgrading connecting roads, construction of the helipad and internal fit-out of several clinical and support departments. The new hospital’s emergency department will be larger than the current emergency facilities in Moruya and Batemans Bay combined. It will also have the region’s first intensive care unit plus some new services that may mean patients no longer need to travel to Canberra, Bega or the Shoalhaven for care. Services include an eight-bed intensive care/close observation unit, surgical and operating theatres, including a day-stay surgical unit, ambulatory care and outpatient services, and paediatric and maternity services, with a special care nursery. There will also be expanded chemotherapy and renal dialysis services, an expanded medical imaging department, including an MRI machine, CT scanner, and x-ray and ultrasound equipment. The hospital will have mental health beds for short-term care and education and training facilities, including a simulation laboratory. A new canopy structure is in place at the hospital’s main entrance and landscaping is progressing. Premier Minns said the hospital was long overdue and would be a game changer so that people did not have to travel to Canberra or other hospitals up the coast. He said it was a big challenge to build a world-class facility in a regional area and to recruit the staff needed to work in it. He said the NSW Government had spent millions of dollars on new accommodation for healthcare workers and abandoned the wages cap or wages freeze that the previous government had implemented. “It is the first time we have competitive pay in NSW in over a decade,” he said. “That is the best way we can confidently say we are going to fill those positions. ”He said the expressions of interest process had started and had received more than 200 expressions of interest from people who would like to work in the new hospital. While he was at a fundraiser in Moruya on Thursday evening (30 July), Lou Dampney explained to him why a local radiotherapy service (LRS) would make a huge difference to people living in the Eurobodalla and Bega Valley shires. The Premier invited two other LRS advocates, Peter and Anne Cormick, to meet him at the new hospital site the following morning, where Mrs Cormick also delivered a passionate plea directly to him. Member for Bega Dr Michael Holland on an earlier visit to the site of the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital. Photo: File. The building facade of the $20 million Batemans Bay Community Health facility on the existing Batemans Bay Hospital site is almost complete and the internal fit-out is well underway. Together with the existing Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, it will provide the community with convenient access to both health services. Mr Park said the new hospital would transform access to healthcare across the region, with expanded services and contemporary facilities designed to meet the needs of a growing community. “Once complete, the Batemans Bay Community Health facility and the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital will provide the South Coast communities with greater access to healthcare, closer to home,” Mr Park said. Member for Bega Dr Michael Holland said the new hospital would provide a level of care that had never been available in the Eurobodalla before, including the region’s first intensive care unit, expanded emergency services, advanced medical imaging and a broader range of specialist services closer to home. “It’s also wonderful to see the new Batemans Bay Community Health facility progressing so well,” Dr Holland said. “Together, these projects represent a once-in-a-generation investment in healthcare that will improve access to services, support our dedicated health professionals and deliver better health outcomes for communities across the Eurobodalla for decades to come. ”Dr Holland said the hospital would be completed this year and opened early next year. The Premier also cut the ribbon on the new nursing training centre at the TAFE in Moruya during his visit. Original Article published by Marion Williams onAbout Regional.