Louise McFadden says “all this planning” will help create a smooth opening for the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital. Photo: NSW Government.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated the Eurobodalla Hospital would have the SNSWLHD’s first MRI machine. It will be the first MRI machine for the SNSWLHD’s coastal region.
Behind-the-scenes planning for the move into a new regional hospital is ongoing, even if progress appears slow.
For Louise McFadden, Southern NSW Local Health District’s (SNSWLHD) Project Director for the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital, there’s still more work to be done as the hospital nears completion.
Ms McFadden said Multiplex was pushing ahead with constructing internal infrastructure during the fit-out stage.
“[That is,] things like the electricity, water supplies, medical gases – all those ‘behind the wall’ systems.”
As part of the final stage of building works, it is also testing those systems to ensure they’re suitable for handover to the SNSWLHD.
The next stage is another round of commissioning, this time by the health district.
“At that point [SNSWLHD] takes on the operational commissioning … orientation with our staff, building familiarisation, training and making sure we get all the equipment and supplies installed,” she said.
It is set to open with Level 4 capacity, requiring different expertise from staff.
Once it opens, the hospital 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.
Ms McFadden said the hospital would also have the first MRI machine for the SNSWLHD’s coastal region.
She said commissioning would help make sure the staff and equipment behind those services were prepared.
“It’s not just tested once – it’s done repeatedly,” Ms McFadden said.
“It’s quite a detailed process …. Often it’s easy to get swept up with doing the orientation and tours and things like that, but it’s all that behind-the-scenes system that needs to work perfectly to make sure it’s a safe and functioning hospital.”
Ms McFadden expects the process to take at least three months.
“We test all the systems thoroughly,” she said.
“We don’t want to open a facility without having thorough testing of every switch, every alarm, every device to make sure it’s safe for receiving patients.”
But there’s ongoing planning, which Ms McFadden described as being like “combining the two hospitals”.
“Of course, what that means is a lot of planning that happens now, in order to make the three-month process as efficient as possible.
“You don’t just wait for the three-month period and start … the whole testing process, the orientation and training processes.”
She also said staff recruitment, including for specialist positions, was underway and going well.
“We’re not naive.
“We do recognise that we are one service down here and there’s a lot of other services across the state and workforce is a challenge for a lot of services … We’re looking at creative ways of addressing those workforce challenges.”
Staff accommodation is also being built on the hospital site, while she believes staff will enjoy working in the “bigger and better hospital”.
“It’s got beaches, the mountain bike riding, the breweries and lots of walking and kayaking and various sporting opportunities … I think all those fabulous elements will be a help in us attracting a brilliant workforce.”
A separate project, the Batemans Bay Community Health facility, is also progressing in “leaps and bounds”.
It is set to be located on the existing Batemans Bay Hospital site, with a concrete slab poured as work continues on its roof.
“[That will be] specifically for the Batemans Bay community,” Ms McFadden said.
“That’s going to have all the community health services that are available now, and additional pathology collection services within that same footprint.”
The Batemans Bay facility is on track to be delivered later this year, she said, while the new hospital is expected to be finished next year.
“We’re still planning for a 2027 opening,” Ms McFadden said.
