Western NSW Local Health District and NSW Health Infrastructure are both confident the Cowra Hospital redevelopment can be delivered within the $110 million budget set aside for the project.
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Asked if the project could be delivered in its entirety during the sod turning for the construction phase last week both bodies were confident this would be the case.
"We've got a job to deliver it" within the budget, Western NSW Local Health District chief executive Mark Spittal said as construction commenced last week.
"I've never been part of a build where there hasn't been challenges but there are substantial contingencies for the unexpected which come along," Mr Spittal said when asked what would happen if the $110 million was spent without delivering the full clinical services plan for the hospital.
"There are layers and layers of control around the project. There are building construction people designed to manage and navigate issues," Mr Spittal said.
A sod turning to mark the beginning of the construction phase of the development was held on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
The following day cranes arrived and site offices were put in place on the site located behind the current Cowra Health Service.
NSW Health Infrastructure Executive Director Rural and Regional, Amanda Bock, told the Cowra Guardian the project "is off and running. They'll build the new hospital, then they'll move in and then we'll come and demolish and finish car parking," Ms Bock said.
Under the current plan the new hospital will include
- An emergency department
- A general medical and surgery inpatient ward
- A peri-operative service (a range of surgical procedures)
- A maternity unit with a dedicated nursery
- Ambulatory care (services for outpatients)
- Oral health (dental clinic)
- Renal dialysis (dialysis treatment for outpatients)
- Oncology (chemotherapy treatments)
- Community Health and Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol services
- Mental health, drug and alcohol services
- Medical imaging department including a CT scanner and ultrasound
- Staff accommodation.
Two Tresillian inpatient beds for new mothers and their babies were also part of the original project but have since been shelved, an issue member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke is attempting to address.
Cowra Tresillian Nurse Unit Manager Rochelle Longhurst said a lot of families expressed "sadness" when they heard the news that Tresillian in-patient beds were being excluded from the rebuild.
"The thought of those in-patient services not being available was very disheartening; we'd really like people to get behind Tresillian and support re-instating the beds in the new Cowra Hospital. It would be very beneficial for people to speak out, and let it be known that we need those beds and the services they will provide," Mrs Longhurst said.
"It's my fear that without them, there will be families that won't access our services because of the costs involved in travelling far from home, not to mention the fact that new mothers who may be struggling, are often in a vulnerable state, and so need to be close to home where their family support network are," she said.