Health Minister Disputes Claims Over Bed Numbers At New Maitland Hospital

BY IAN CROUCH

 Health Minister, Jillian Skinner has dismissed speculation the proposed Lower Hunter Hospital at Metford will be much smaller than first thought.

A leaked Health Infrastructure briefing note claims the hospital will only have 282 beds based on projected demand by 2022, while the state opposition claims it will only have 220 beds.

But Jillian Skinner says this is not the case.

"I said it will be at least as big as what we proposed and I think we proposed 350 to 400 and it will be at least that, I would expect, but possibly more. So, the nonsense that the local member is talking about 220 beds is just that," she said.

Health Minister Jillian Skinner

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit At John Hunter Children's Hospital Officially Opened

BY IAN CROUCH

 Health Minister, Jillian Skinner today officially opened the upgraded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the John Hunter Children's Hospital.

Work on the $7 million Stage 1 project began in May last year and now provides 32 special care spaces, a palliative care room, showering facilities, a breast feeding and expressing room, new waiting area, three counselling rooms and a family room with overnight accommodation.

The unit is now double its previous size and can cater for 1100 newborns each year in state-of-the-art facilities.

"When I first visited the old Neonatal Unit Intensive Care Unit I was shocked at how cramped it was...the space for one baby was the space for four," Mrs Skinner said.

Stages 2 and 3 of the project will include a redeveloped intensive care unit, isolation rooms, a procedure room, staff training areas and office spaces at a cost of $18 million.

Work on Stage 2 began last month.

Mrs Skinner also visited Tomaree Hospital today to inspect the soon-to-be-completed upgrade to the emergency department which was funded through a bequest from local couple, Tom and Rose Pearce and a contribution from Hunter New England Health.

Health  Minster Jillian Skinner At Today's Official Opening

Next Step in Maitland Hospital Construction

BY GARY-JON LYSAGHT

The State Government have moved to the next step in the construction of the new Maitland hospital, announcing a health partnership proposal for prospective developers.

Jillian Skinner

Developers will now bid on the construction, arguing why they’re the best one for the job.

The one who meets the Government’s brief the best will be awarded the contract.

Health Minister Gillian Skinner says it can only do good for regional communities.

“These partnerships are about building bigger and better hospitals for our local communities,” she said.

It comes after the Government ended its expression of interest period on the hospital last week, which they had running since mid-September.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald says nothing will change for public health users.

Scot MacDonald

“Public access is exactly the same.  If you’re used to going to the emergency department, you’ll be treated exactly the same,” he said.

Ensure the hospital remains viable for the future of Maitland – a town which grows every day – has been on the Government’s agenda, and it will need to be the same for private developers.

“This has to be future proof.  This hospital will have to meet the future needs for decades ahead,” Scot MacDonald said.

“That is our brief to the planners and the designers and the non-Government operators.

“It’s not about bed numbers today or tomorrow, it’s about what the services and the facilities that we need in the years and decades ahead.

“If they [private developers] can’t do that that won’t be accepted by the State Government.”

Newcastle Hospital Implicated In Chemotherapy Underdosing Scandal

BY IAN CROUCH

It's been revealed a cancer doctor who allegedly under-dosed more than 100 patients had previously worked at Newcastle's Calvary Mater Hospital.

Doctor John Grygiel worked there for two years as a medical oncologist in the 1980's, however health authorities admit they have no record of what he did or how many patients he treated.

Dr Grygiel is accused of giving low doses of chemotherapy to patients at Sydney's St Vincents Hospital as well as Orange and Bathurst Hospitals.

The revelation has prompted calls from Wallsend MP, Sonia Hornery for an inquiry into Dr Grygiel's work to be extended to include his time at the Calvary Mater.

"I'll be raising  this issue in Parliament to make the minister aware that this is of concern to us locally," she said

However, Health Minister Jillian Skinner has ruled this out saying his time there doesn't need to be investigated.

"The was before there were any protocols about the dosing to do with chemotherapy, so it was not pertinent to the inquiry conducted into his treatments out in the Orange hospitals later on," she said.

Dr John Grygiel photo courtesy dailytelegraph.com.au

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner

State Opposition Calls For Hospital Death Inquiry

BY IAN CROUCH

The state opposition is calling for an independent inquiry into the death of a patient at the John Hunter Hospital after she was found in a toilet nearly 8 hours after going missing.

The Herald reports three suspended staff members have now been sacked over the incident on May 12, while it's understood the woman's family is seeking legal advice.

Health Minister, Jillian Skinner has stopped short of ordering an independent probe, saying a full internal investigation and a root cause analysis are under way.

Jillian Skinner Photo Courtesy smh.com.au