MPs Ryan Park and Anna Watson turn the first sod at the Shellharbour Hospital site. Photo: Kellie O’Brien.
Construction has begun on the new Shellharbour Hospital at Dunmore, marking a significant milestone in working towards easing pressure on Wollongong’s struggling hospital system.
Delivered as part of the more than $780 million new Shellharbour Hospital and Integrated Services project, it’s expected to be completed in 2027.
Before turning the first sod to mark the start of main construction work on Tuesday (1 October) with Shellharbour MP Anna Watson and health workers, NSW Health Minister and Keira MP Ryan Park said the much-needed new facility was a long time coming.
“What we know in this area is that there is significant pressure on Wollongong Hospital, the likes we haven’t seen before,” Mr Park said.
“It’s now one of the busiest hospitals in regional NSW and it’s one of the busiest hospitals in the state.”
He said early on they decided to work closely with the then government to be a part of the advocacy for the hospital and efforts to deliver a suite of enhanced health care facilities, acknowledging Anna Watson in leading that.
“Anna made it very clear that this community was bursting at its seams, and we had a hospital not fit for purpose,” he said.
“We could see from the data very clearly that Wollongong was under enormous pressure because of the growth in the south, and it’s what has led that advocacy.”
Mr Park said the result was the Shellharbour project, jointly funded by the NSW and Federal governments, to include an expanded emergency department, increased surgical capacity, rehabilitation and aged care services, acute medical services, mental health, renal dialysis, outpatients care services, car parking and improved public transport links.
He said the new hospital was also being designed to enable construction of a future rooftop helipad.
“The new Shellharbour Hospital and Integrated Services Project will cater for local population growth into the future and relieve pressure on other parts of the Illawarra Shoalhaven health network, including Wollongong Hospital,” he said.
He said the choice to not include a birthing suite wasn’t a matter of not wanting to do it, but simply being unable to get staff.
“I can assure you that it is something that if that demand increases and the availability of staff increases, particularly midwives, we will certainly have a look at it,” he said.
“Across the state, about a billion dollars is going into the rollout of ratios that will see – including in this area – an additional 2500 nurses and midwives come into play.
“We think that that is one step, not the only step, in making sure we both attract and retain nurses and midwives to big centers like this.”
At the hospital site are Health Infrastructure acting chief executive Emma Skulander, Mr Parks, Ms Watson, BESIX Watpac construction manager NSW John Mattock and Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District’s Julie Carter. Photo: Kellie O’Brien.
He said he was confident that when the hospital opened, it would be properly and effectively staffed.
“My number one priority is not actually constructing new facilities. My number one priority is generating the staff we need to keep up with the demand on services,” he said.
Shellharbour MP Anna Watson said she had been talking about a new hospital at Shellharbour for 12 years and the turning of the sod was more than simply symbolic.
“These are services that our communities have been asking for for many years,” Ms Watson said.
“It is an exciting day for the Shellharbour community as we progress the delivery of this state-of the-art health facility.
“Look around where we are, and can you imagine recovering in a place as beautiful as this? We couldn’t have picked a better site.”
She said in the short-term, the project would also provide a boost in jobs as works got undertaken by BESIX Watpac, which was engaged as the head contractor in August following a competitive tender process to build the new hospital.
“The works will also help drive education and job opportunities for the Illawarra region, supporting around 800 direct jobs during construction, with the potential to support thousands of indirect jobs over the life of the project,” she said.
After a welcome to country from Yuin man Uncle Gerald Brown, who called for elders who have since passed to have hospital rooms named in their honour, Ms Watson said she thought it was appropriate to name some of the wings after past elders.
The Shellharbour Hospital and Integrated Services project also includes expanded sub-acute services at Bulli Hospital, new rehabilitation and palliative care beds at Wollongong Hospital and a new community health centre in Warrawong, which will be built on a portion of land at Port Kembla Hospital.
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