BY OLI GOELDNER
A major overhaul of Cessnock Hospital's staffing and facilities is underway, following a visit from Health minister Ryan Park.
Almost one year since construction began, the foundations are now being laid for the hospital's new acute services building as part of the $138 million Cessnock Hospital Redevelopment.
The new two-storey building will include an expanded emergency department, operating theatres and day surgery spaces, two new inpatient wards, a sterilising services unit, a new medical imaging service and a modern pharmacy.
Footings for the building's foundation have been installed, with the final ground floor slab expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
"We're going to look at the hospital taking shape today," said Health minister Ryan Park ahead of his visit to the Cessnock facility.
"Over 4,000 cubic metres of concrete are going to be poured and that will form the footprint and the base of the hospital for it to grow over the next little while."
The redevelopment is expected to be completed by late 2027.
Alongside the construction, the hospital have now begun rostering to Safe Staffing Levels in the emergency department (ED).
An additional two full-time equivalent nurses have joined the facility's workforce, bringing the ratio to one nurse to every three patients.
"This is a really important initiative and it's something that nurses and midwives have rightly advocated for for probably a decade and a half," said Minister Park.
"56 EDs across NSW have commenced that implementation and 30 have now completed it.
"We're really happy that Cessnock is one of those where a successful recruitment campaign has taken place and additional nurses have been allocated."
