BENDIGO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT TO TREAT MORE PATIENTS
From the Premier
Friday, 01 October 2010
A new state-the-art emergency department at Bendigo Hospital will provide patients in central Victoria with faster treatment in an emergency.
Premier John Brumby was today joined by Health Minister Daniel Andrews, Member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan, Member for Bendigo West Bob Cameron and hospital staff, to open a major new $9.5 million emergency department equipped with world-class treatment facilities.
Mr Brumby said the new emergency department would ensure people living and working in Bendigo had access to the best healthcare in an emergency.
“We know how important high-quality healthcare is to Victorian families and that’s why we are making the largest ever investments in our regional health system,” Mr Brumby said.
“We are building new hospitals, hiring more doctors and nurses and recruiting more paramedics for regional and rural areas because we want to lock-in a prosperous future for our regional communities by providing them with the very best healthcare.
“Bendigo Hospital has one of the busiest emergency departments in regional Victoria with an average of 118 patients attending the service every day and this new emergency department will mean more patients can be treated and treated faster.
“The opening of the emergency department comes while construction ramps up on the new $473 million Bendigo Hospital project which will be the largest hospital project in Victoria’s history and among the biggest across Australia.”
The Victorian Government invested $9.5 million towards the new emergency department. It features an increase in treatment spaces from 17 to 23, a new eight-bed short stay unit and a dedicated fast-track area so patients with less serious illnesses and injuries can receive quicker assessments and treatment.
Mr Andrews said the Brumby Labor Government had invested a further $1.7 million for x-ray equipment and to provide an ambulance bay and expanded resuscitation.
“The Brumby Labor Government is making the largest ever investment in regional health and to secure the lifestyles of families across regional and rural Victoria,” Mr Andrews said.
“I congratulate the hardworking emergency department staff who had continued to operate while construction was underway – they now have world-class facilities to provide world-class care to patients at Bendigo Hospital.”
Ms Allan said the opening of the new emergency department was great news for families and built on work underway on the new $473 million Bendigo Hospital project.
“The medical staff at Bendigo Hospital are fantastic and this expansion will help them provide even better care to the local community at our busy emergency department,” Ms Allan said.
“We know that Bendigo families are proud of their community and want to preserve their lifestyle, that’s why the Brumby Labor Government is investing $473 million to build them a new world-class hospital.
“When it opens, the new Bendigo Hospital will have expanded capacity to meet demand, including an increase of 105 acute beds as well as more cancer treatment facilities.”
Mr Cameron said the Brumby Labor Govenrment invested $473 million for a new Bendigo Hospital in the 2010 State Budget, building on a $55 million commitment in last year’s Budget which had allowed the first stage of works to get underway.
“This work is securing the ongoing operation of the existing hospital while a new Bendigo Hospital is built on the historic Anne Caudle site, and includes demolition of some buildings in preparation for the new facility,” Mr Cameron said.
“The funding will build the new acute hospital, including additional inpatient mental health beds and a refurbished ambulatory centre. The works include a new radiotherapy bunker and 18 additional day oncology chairs for chemotherapy patients.
“The project will create 735 jobs during construction and will provide Victorian families living in this region with a state-of-the-art new hospital, including special new women’s and children’s facilities, special-care nursery cots and a new emergency department.”
The new Bendigo Hospital will feature:
• 308 new acute inpatient beds, an increase of 105 over the current 203 beds. This includes a new integrated women’s and children’s facility with six delivery suites, 25 maternity beds, 15 special care nursery cots and six consulting rooms;
• An Emergency Department with 34 cubicles, eight operating theatres and a new helipad;
• An ambulatory care centre with 68 acute same-day beds, an increase of 30 over the current 38 and including 18 additional day oncology chairs for patients with cancer, and an additional radiotherapy bunker with linear accelerator; and
• A purpose built 75-bed mental health facility, which brings together under one roof existing mental health services at three sites, providing an additional 33 beds.
The new Bendigo Hospital will be built on the historic
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