Construction starts on new Coffs Harbour NSW Ambulance station
Build it and they will come, though being rushed to hospital might not be every resident’s dream. What the new Coffs Harbour ambulance station will mean for the community.
Coffs Harbour
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Construction has started - at least in a symbolic manner - on the new multimillion-dollar Coffs Harbour ambulance station in Marcia Street, a location criticised by some who say the area is flood-prone.
But at an official sod-turn on Tuesday, July 26, NSW Ambulance chief superintendent Damian Hughes argued the new base would enable the agency to deliver “the right care at the right time at the right place”.
Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh acknowledged the controversy surrounding the site, but countered it was close to the centre of Coffs Harbour with easy access to the fast growing northern beaches.
The existing station is at the Coffs Harbour Health Campus to the south, and Mr Hughes said the service had used software to map triple-0 calls in determining Marcia Street as the most suitable location for the new project.
“This will set us up for the future,” he said, adding that NSW Ambulance is one of the biggest and busiest ambulance services in the world “and on top of that we’ve got Covid”.
Regional Health Minister Bronnie Taylor, a former nurse, waved to the pandemic in conceding “the pressure’s really been on”.
As it was at the sod turn, where after scouting for some softer soil, Ms Taylor said she struggled at the traditional shovel-wielding ceremonies.
“Did you get it (the photo), I friggin’ hope so,” she yelled to gathered media after successfully flinging a clump of earth.
A keen observer at the proceedings was Jacinta Young, the ambulance station officer at Coffs Harbour.
When Ms Young moved from Sydney to Coffs in 1998, she was the first female on-road paramedic.
“I feel like a dinosaur,” she said of her 33-year career in the service.
“But it’s a great job and it’s good to see a lot more women on-board because it adds a different dimension.”
Sydney-based Patterson Building Group will construct the new station and project manager Peter Bland said it would be a “fairly straightforward build”, with a total price tag around the $6 million mark.
“There’s nothing untoward about this site,” Mr Bland said.
Mr Hughes said the new Coffs base, coming on the heels of the new station at Sawtell, would be state-of-the-art, and house some 24 paramedics.
The station would operate 24/7, he said.
“It’s very exciting to get some new digs for our staff,” Mr Hughes said.
Mr Singh said the new station would include internal parking for up to 12 emergency ambulance vehicles, an internal wash bay, admin areas, and relief accommodation for paramedics.
“The new Coffs Harbour Ambulance Station will also support the existing ambulance station recently completed in Sawtell and the refurbishment of Macksville station which is nearing completion,” Mr Singh said.
The new Coffs station is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2023.
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