Government pledges $1b super-hospital in Penrith

A BILLION-DOLLAR hospital will be constructed in the heart of Sydney’s suburbs as part of a countermove by the State government to Labor’s anti-stadium campaign.

Nurses Megan Ryan (left) and Eunice Koroma and Dr Emma Roffey will have a larger workplace when Nepean Hospital is expanded at a cost of $1 billion.

A $1 BILLION hospital will be built in the heart of Sydney’s suburbs in a state government move to fend off Labor’s anti-stadium campaign.

The hospital, to rival Westmead in size, will be based at the existing Nepean Hospital complex in Penrith, making it the largest in the region.

Construction work already under way to increase capacity at the hospital by 200 beds will be extended to a total of 600 beds, with further expansion proposed as part of a second stage.

NSW Government artist drawings of proposed expansion at the Nepean-Penrith hospital.

As well as a world-class emergency department, the completed hospital will provide significantly expanded maternity, neonatal and child health services, state-of-the-art nuclear medicine and medical imaging, and a new cancer care centre.

Additional care will also be available for older patients, with health department forecasts showing the number of people aged over 70 is set to soar.

art work for s t

Hospital visitors will also be catered for, with a $26 million multi-storey carpark already under construction.

With Sydney’s unprecedented development putting other hospitals such as Westmead under pressure, the state government has reopened its coffers for a total overhaul of the Nepean complex.

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Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the project represented an “unprecedented” investment in Western Sydney hospitals, with almost $5 billion now committed to upgrades.

“After years of Labor neglect, our government has delivered unprecedented funds to the development of world-class health facilities across Western Sydney,” she said.

Nepean Hospital is located in the electorate of Western Sydney Minister Stuart Ayres, who has been driving the campaign to rebuild ANZ stadium at Olympic Park and Allianz Stadium at Moore Park, at a cost of $2.5 billion.

Mr Ayres, who has been repeatedly forced to defend the hospital’s performance, said: “This billion-dollar investment in Nepean Hospital will give the community and the medical staff the facilities needed to support the growing Western Sydney population.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the project represented an “unprecedented” investment in Western Sydney hospitals.

The emergency department at the newly expaded Nepean Hospital will be “world class”.

“After being treated with Band-Aids by past governments, Nepean Hospital is finally being built for the future.”

The government is also spending $900 million on Westmead and The Children’s Hospital, $700 million on Blacktown and Mount Druitt hospitals, $775 million on Campbelltown Hospital and $475 million on Liverpool.

Another $300 million is being spent on Rouse Hill Hospital, while Ronald McDonald House at Westmead will receive $10 million.

Labor, which has ramped up its campaign attacking the government for spending on stadiums rather than hospitals and schools, has reserved its own spending commitments until the state budget, when the financial positions of the government will become clear.