The Hills Clinic: Aurora Healthcare and Northwest development proposal at Kellyville to be determined

A long-awaited $28m mental health care expansion for The Hills Clinic at Kellyville is set to be determined by a Sydney planning panel. See what it means for local services.

Artist impression of proposed expansion to the Hills Clinic, a mental health hospital at 6 McCausland Place, Kellyville, as submitted to the Hills Shire Council in August 2022.

A long-awaited $28m mental health care expansion for The Hills Clinic at Kellyville is set to be determined by a Sydney planning panel, to meet the rising demands for healthcare in western Sydney.

Plans to expand The Hills Clinic; a specialist practice which provides private psychiatric and psychological treatment for a wide range of mental health disorders, have been in the works since 2022.

The Australian arm of global healthcare owner and developer Northwest and hospital operating partner Aurora Healthcare lodged plans to expand The Hills Clinic hospital across 4430 sqm of newly acquired land with the Hills Shire Council.

Northwest currently has around $3.1b in Australian and New Zealand development in its pipeline, with 11 of 12 committed projects under construction.

Artist impression of proposed expansion to the Hills Clinic. Picture: Hills Shire Council.

Picture: Hills Shire Council.

The developments include a $52 million world-class cancer centre and research hub developed with Campbelltown City Council and healthcare provider GenesisCare, which began construction in July of 2022.

Aurora Australia chief executive Julia Strickland-Bellamy previously said the years of the Covid-19 pandemic drove a “huge spike” in demand for mental health services.

“In the two years since the onset of the pandemic, The Hills Clinic has recorded a 43 per cent increase in day patient attendances and a 31 per cent increase in inpatient admissions,” Ms Strickland-Bellamy said.

Now, a decision looms for the $28 million project, to be constructed at 6 Mccausland Pl, Kellyville.

The state significant work was sent for determination by the Sydney Central City Planning Panel in late 2023, with an outcome set to be reached by early December.

An aerial view of The Hills Clinic proposed expansion.

The proposed development consists of the construction of an adjacent two-storey hospital with extra beds and group therapy rooms plus a new basement carpark.

The plans also outlines extensions to the existing hospital and services for current patients, while also introducing new treatment offerings.

Young adults would remain a key part of the expanded services, with eating disorders, PTSD for first responders, trauma and addiction services also under consideration.

There are also plans for an enhanced treatment experience through expanded facilities such as patient activity areas, including outside space and a gymnasium, and private doctors’ consulting rooms.

If approved, the hospital’s expansion is planned to commence in 2023 and welcome the first patients by late 2024.