In a matter of weeks the builder of the $35 million Western Cancer Centre at Dubbo Hospital will "break through" into the back of its Macquarie Building.
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Connecting the hospital's "main clinical building" and the cancer centre will benefit future patients.
Health Infrastructure (HI) NSW has outlined the project's progress since structural works were completed in October 2020.
It has also revealed what needs to be done before the cancer centre is completed in the "middle of the year".
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"Since October 2020, the building contractor, Lipman, has completed the main structure, roof installation and internal framing with the external cladding now well underway," a HI spokeswoman told the Daily Liberal.
The centre will open to patients following a comprehensive commissioning process, which includes staff training and calibration of complex equipment such as the PET CT scanner, the first of its kind in the Western NSW Local Health District.
- Health Infrastructure NSW spokeswoman
"The installation of the building's plumbing and electrical services is also progressed and will be followed by sheeting of the walls in the coming weeks.
"When the walls are complete, work can focus on the internal finishes including painting and installation of floors and ceilings.
"Lipman is also scheduled to break through into the back of the new Macquarie Building in the next few weeks to connect the cancer centre with the hospital's main clinical building via the consult rooms on level 1."
The spokeswoman said all major medical equipment, including a linear accelerator which administered radiotherapy to patients, would be installed "towards the end of construction".
The building, "on schedule and budget", would be completed in the "middle of the year", she said.
"The centre will open to patients following a comprehensive commissioning process, which includes staff training and calibration of complex equipment such as the PET CT scanner, the first of its kind in the Western NSW Local Health District," the spokeswoman said.
The cancer centre will also include 16 chemotherapy spaces and capacity for the building of a second radiation therapy bunker. The first was built in June 2020.
It will have offices, consultation rooms and a wellness centre offering non-medical treatments.
The federal government contributed $25 million to the NSW government project which is intended to provide life-saving cancer treatment much closer to home for the communities of Western NSW.
