TAMWORTH’S new $211 million state-of-the-art hospital officially opened yesterday and the NSW Health Minister said its modern facilities would rival those at any big city hospital.
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The new acute-services building includes an emergency department, intensive care unit, high-dependency unit, operating theatres, day surgery and recovery.
It also has medical imaging, the maternity unit, birthing suite and special care nursery, children’s ward and medical, surgical and palliative care wards.
Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the Tamworth hospital redevelopment was one of the first health commitments she made as minister.
“We understood the significance, need and value of the project for the region,” Mrs Skinner said.
“I couldn’t be prouder to deliver on our promise and see the final result: a spacious, modern hospital that will provide sophisticated medical services for the New England North West region for years to come.”
Since becoming operational in July, more than 21,000 patients have come through the hospital’s doors.
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said the community was now receiving care in one of the most modern hospitals in NSW.
“In March 2011, the minister and I stood in front of the hospital and signed a pledge to the community that we would fund this redevelopment,” Mr Anderson said.
“We made good on that promise and, with the commonwealth’s contribution of $120 million, we made this new hospital a reality.”
Mr Anderson said the “magnificent” building was a long time coming and the people who worked there were its “heart and soul”.
“The staff are doing an outstanding job – there is going to be a settling period like anything. The staff are settling in and they are loving it,” he said.
New England MP Barnaby Joyce said it was great to see the hospital he was born at transformed into a “marvellous new facility”.
“With the new hospital, Tamworth will continue attracting highly-skilled medical professionals to the region to provide for our growing population,” Mr Joyce said.
Mr Joyce and Mr Anderson both paid tribute to past politicians who had fought for the redevelopment, including former Tamworth MP Peter Draper and former New England MP Tony Windsor.
Chief executive of Hunter New England Health, Michael DiRienzo, said new and improved services would provide better outcome for patients, such as the radioactive iodine service and renal unit.
“The new renal unit will have a space to educate patients on how to administer their own dialysis at home if they choose to, sparing them to need to come to hospital three times a week,” Mr DiRienzo said.
The renal unit will be located in the new outpatient centre on the lower two levels of the former ward building, which is the final stage of the hospital’s redevelopment.
It will include a fracture clinic, diabetes services, paediatric clinics, obstetrician and gynaecologist clinics.
“This time next year, patients will come to this place for all their outpatient appointment needs,” Mr DiRienzo said.
