Rouse Hill Hospital: petition demands emergency department

Residents are pleading with the NSW Government to include plans for an emergency department as part of a proposal for a new hospital in Sydney.

Residents in Sydney’s booming northwest are desperately calling on the NSW Government to include plans for an emergency department at the promised Rouse Hill Hospital, as the latest housing project figures forecast a continued boom across the region.

There are calls for an emergency department to be included in the plans for Rouse Hill

Greenway federal Labor MP Michelle Rowland echoed concerned resident’s call for appropriate medical facilities at the Windsor Rd hospital site — creating a petition to the government with more than 1100 signatures.

“When we look at our neighbours in North Sydney, it’s hard to ignore how different our experiences are in this shared health system,” Ms Rowland told NewsLocal.

Supplied image of Member for Greenway, New South Wales Michelle Rowland MP.

“The community in North-West Sydney and beyond are sending the federal and state Liberal governments a clear message — we deserve better.”

Ms Rowland said the most common question from constituents was “How is it possible that Rouse Hill hospital is being built without an emergency ward?”.

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“An emergency ward at Rouse Hill Hospital a practical solution for a problem intensifying each day,” she said.

The latest population statistics earmark a seven-fold growth in the number of people calling Rouse Hill home by 2040, with the population of the suburb expected to skyrocket from 11,022 now to nearly 70,000.

Artist impressions of the Rouse Hill Hospital. The final site has just been confirmed

Meanwhile, the current population of Schofields is nearly 16,000, with forecasted growth to over 64,000 by 2040. Around 15,000 people currently call Riverstone home, however, this figure is expected to rise to over 42,000 by 2040. In Vineyard, the population is expected to boom from 500 currently to over 26,000 in 2040.

HSU delegate and Blacktown Hospital security officer, John Rassmussen, said his hospital’s emergency department reaches capacity regularly.

“Blacktown Hospital is very busy, especially through emergency,” he said.

“I’ve seen the emergency ward full with the waiting room with standing room only.

“Come 2031 there’s going to be an extra million people in the Western Sydney district — so, we need an extra ED department at Rouse Hill to cope with the extra population.”

HSU delegate and Blacktown Hospital security officer, John Rassmussen

Blacktown Hospitals critical emergency waiting times almost tripled in a single year, meanwhile, Westmead’s waiting times doubled.

An Upper House hearing heard emergency patients arriving by ambulance in Western Sydney have to wait almost twice as long to get admitted to hospital, compared with Northern Sydney.

A Health Infrastructure spokesman said the government was investing $300 million into the new hospital.

Artist impressions of the Rouse Hill Hospital. The final site has just been confirmed

“The site for the Rouse Hill Hospital at Windsor and Commercial Road has been acquired,” he said. “The project is on-track to start work, prior to March 2023.

“Clinical Service planning has commenced — scope for which clinical services will be

delivered in the new hospital will be confirmed once planning is further progressed.