19 December 2013
The redevelopment will be in two stages and will deliver 72 extra beds and two extra operating theatres.
Stage One will deliver an extra operating theatre and 46 new beds, increasing bed capacity by almost 50 per cent. This will be complemented by an enhanced front entrance, including lift access from Lily Street, and refurbishment of the rest of the hospital.
Building work will begin in 2014 when the detailed plans have been approved by the City of Greater Bendigo.
St John of God Bendigo Hospital CEO Darren Rogers said the redevelopment was a significant investment which would meet Bendigo’s growing health care needs as the region continues to expand.
“We have experienced increased demand for services in recent years,” he said.
“This investment will offer more choice in health care options close to home for the Bendigo community and will complement Bendigo Health’s new public hospital by attracting more medical specialists, resulting in fewer patients needing to travel to Melbourne for specialist care.”
Stage Two will cost $9.3million (including escalation) and will include the second additional theatre and another 28 beds. This stage will start when demand dictates.
Mr Stan Liacos, Director - City Futures, City of Greater Bendigo said the announcement marked a proud moment in Bendigo’s history.
“The redevelopment is a great vote of confidence in Bendigo, which continues to take centre stage in regional Australia for unprecedented investment in infrastructure, and strong economic and residential growth,” he said.
“The community of Bendigo and indeed the wider region strongly welcome St John of God Health Care’s decision to invest so substantially in helping meet our health care needs.”
Mr Rogers said works will be staged to ensure that no services will be closed during construction. A new inpatient wing will be built first, to the east of the current hospital, extending half way across Lily Street. When the new wing is completed by early 2016, work will start on the operating theatre suite. This will include reconfiguring the theatre layout to improve patient flow, refurbishing the existing theatres and adding an additional theatre and more recovery beds.
The major change patients and visitors will see next year is a new three-storey wing built over Lily Street. Patients and visitors will still be able to drive up Lily Street, and then enter the hospital via a lift from that level, as well as the current access from Chum Street.