The new surgical inpatient unit at Dubbo Hospital is being commissioned as old buildings are readied for demolition including the former Playmates Cottage.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Stage three redevelopment of the hospital is complete and preparations are under way for the start of stage four main works, featuring a new three-storey clinical tower.
Meanwhile, a dedicated consumer committee is meeting with representatives of regional communities on the integrated cancer centre that Health Infrastructure (HI) reports will be built in conjunction with the hospital’s current stages of redevelopment.
“A dedicated consumer committee has been established for the cancer centre project to ensure Western NSW communities can provide input into this crucial health service that will significantly reduce the need for patients to travel long distances for cancer treatment and diagnostics,” a HI spokeswoman said.
The new surgical inpatient unit required the construction of another floor on the hospital’s clinical services building, now called Talbragar Building.
The unit, to be opened this month, is described as a “bright, open, contemporary” 34-bed facility with 14 single rooms that each have a “carer’s zone” for overnight stays when required .
“Staff orientation and operational commissioning is currently occurring to ensure a smooth transition into the new surgical unit,” the HI spokeswoman said.
She said stage four demolition works would begin soon and include the George Hatch Building, the former Playmates Cottage and S Block, the current surgical unit.
The demolition works and installation of in-ground services will take several months. The three-storey clinical tower to be built on the south-east corner of the hospital campus will include multiple units including emergency and medical imaging, and a critical care floor shared by a coronary care/stroke unit, intensive care unit and cardiac catheter laboratory.
“Planning is also progressing well on the $35 million Western Cancer Centre Dubbo project which will provide 16 chemotherapy chairs, consulting rooms, satellite pharmacy, a bunker with one linac (linear accelerator) for radiation therapy and a PET CT scanner for enhanced diagnostics at Dubbo Hospital,” the HI spokeswoman said.
“Schematic design user groups are under way with health and community representatives and the planning and design phase will continue for several months to determine the best design outcomes for staff and patients.”
The state government is spending $150 million on the hospital’s current stages of redevelopment and has kicked in $10 million for the cancer centre that first secured $25 million from the federal government.