NSW politicians have provided several updates on one of regional Australia’s newest hospitals. Photo: NSW Government.
Radiotherapy, expanded services and more beds are on the cards for a new regional hospital – but not all at once.
The $330 million Eurobodalla Regional Hospital is being built in southeast Moruya, on the NSW Far South Coast.
Structural works have finished, with the build recently reaching its highest point.
Once it opens, the Level 4 facility will include an eight-bed intensive care unit, surgical and operating theatres (with a day surgery unit), medical imaging facilities, mental health beds for short-term stays and paediatric and maternity services.
Earlier this year, the NSW Government announced plans to release an in-house tender for a radiotherapy service for the hospital, meaning people wouldn’t need to travel to Canberra or Nowra for treatment.
During a recent visit to Moruya, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the government was working to finalise tender documents for a radiotherapy service, but the exact timeline for the service was unclear.
“I can say that the request for the proposal will be released later this year,” he said.
“We’re working through [and] finalising those tender documents for that at the moment. We’re working through what that model might look like, and then we’ll put that proposal out for feedback.
“That radiation therapy won’t happen on day one … I just want to be clear about that.”
The project team is continuing to work on the hospital’s internal fit-out, facade installation and external works.
The new hospital’s design has been developed in consultation with local health staff, clinicians and the community.
Premier Chris Minns also pushed back on claims he was “dismissing” calls to keep the Batemans Bay emergency department open.
As part of planning for the new hospital, the emergency department at Batemans Bay Hospital is set to close.
The Don’t Close Batemans Bay Hospital Emergency Department community group has been calling on the NSW Government to keep the facility open.
Their 2024 petition against the closure collected around 18,000 signatures before being debated in parliament, while Eurobodalla Shire Council unanimously decided to advocate for the cause at its August meeting.
Mr Minns said it wasn’t feasible to operate both emergency departments, pointing to plans for Eurobodalla Regional Hospital to have more beds than the current Moruya and Batemans Bay hospitals combined.
“What I’d ask the community to do is to suspend judgment until you can see for yourself how advanced and wonderful this new hospital is,” he said.
“[This is] a massive upgrade in the provision of public health infrastructure for this community. Part of the reason why we built this brand new hospital is because it’s brand new and the old, aging infrastructure needed to be updated.”
He also said consultation about the nearby Moruya bypass was ongoing.
In July 2024, the ‘Orange’ corridor was picked as the preferred option for the project, but it has seen repeated calls for funding commitments.
“I know governments in the past put the cart before the horse, issued the media release, announced a big change and put $0 attached to it.
“We don’t want to run an operation like that … We want to make sure that we get the right route, and it works for the community, but we’re going to do this in a methodical way.”
The need to balance various projects was echoed by Member for Bega Doctor Michael Holland.
“We know that this project will cost $1.7 billion and that $1.7 billion was never budgeted by previous governments.
“It’s also an issue of workforce and resources.”
He also said the bypass wasn’t a factor in the site selection for the new hospital.
Construction of the hospital is expected to finish in 2027.
Further information on the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital can be found online.
