Major works start on new Tweed Valley Hospital at Cudgen
The new hospital under construction will treat and employ a significant number of Gold Coast residents. Here’s what we know so far.
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UP to 650 construction jobs will be created as the new $673 million Tweed Valley Hospital at Cudgen begins to take shape.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Tweed MP Geoff Provest announced the start of major works on Tuesday.
The hospital is flagged to open in 2023.Ms Berejiklian said during a fairly rare visit to the Tweed that the hospital would be almost double the capacity of the ageing Tweed Hospital at Tweed Heads.
“This will ensure more than 5000 patients each year will not have to travel outside of the area and away from their families and support networks to access lifesaving treatments,” she said.
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Mr Hazzard said there had been more than 500 project user group meetings to make sure the hospital was future-proofed and designed to meet community needs.
“And the economic benefits of this project to the region, particularly in the midst of a pandemic when we know so many businesses and families have been struggling, cannot be overstated,” he said.
Mr Provest reiterated the 2023 opening date and announced the anticipated number of jobs.
“Our region’s population is forecast to grow by 17 per cent over the next decade and this new hospital will service that increased demand as well as offer education and training opportunities,” he said.
“Building it near the NSW TAFE Kingscliff campus will allow the partnership between TAFE NSW and the Tweed Valley Hospital to develop and deliver improved education and training opportunities for the people of the Tweed.”
Mr Provest said the hospital would include more operating theatres and recovery spaces, a bigger emergency department and enhanced medical, surgical and mental health services.
Additionally, he said the hospital, flagged as the largest regional capital health investment in the state’s history, would have better ambulatory care services, including more outpatient clinics, a new interventional cardiology service and radiotherapy as part of a new integrated cancer care service.
Major work on the hospital comes on the back of a nasty and drawn out battle in the Tweed Shire community.Former Mayor Katie Milne was a notable member of a sizeable group of residents which fought against the facility’s contentious location on state significant farmland – to no avail, in the end.
This week, Labor Member for Richmond Justine Elliot, who has long butted heads with her state political counterpart Mr Provest, again raised concerns parking at the hospital may not be free as previously promised by the NSW Liberal National Party.
She has also claimed the old Tweed Hospital could be sold.
“Now we find out that not only is she (Ms Berejiklian) refusing to guarantee free parking, but she is also aiming to sell off the existing Tweed Hospital,” she said.
“Gladys Berejiklian’s Liberals and Nationals: you just can’t trust them.”
Mr Provest dismissed the claims as “lies” run as part of a “scare campaign”.
He has repeatedly doubled down and assured parking at the hospital would be free and the old hospital would not be sold.
New Tweed Valley hospital's multimillion NSW Government funding boost
The construction of a massive new $673 million hospital in the Tweed is well underway ahead of the hotly anticipated healthcare facility’s opening to patients by 2023.
Tweed Valley Hospital will treat and employ a significant number of Gold Coast residents.
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About 20 per cent of patients using the current Tweed Hospital, and almost 40 per cent of staff live in Queensland, according to Northern NSW Local Health District CEO Wayne Jones.
Funds have been allocated by the New South Wales Government to turbocharge construction of the new Cudgen hospital, which has proved a contentious development due to its location on state significant farmland – former mayor Katie Milne even protested against the decision.
The government has flagged $82.7 million in the NSW Budget to speed up the project from its Jobs and Infrastructure Acceleration Fund.
It comes as more details have emerged about the fate of dry-stone rock walls on the shire site, which have cultural significance to the Tweed South Sea islander community.
The walls have been linked to the historical slave labour of blackbirded islanders in the Tweed dating back to the 19th century.
It’s expected the walls will be incorporated into “reflection spaces” on the hospital site as the project team continues to work with the South Sea islander community.
Meanwhile, early works, including bulk earthworks, roadways, piling and the connection of services, were in the final stages recently.
The overall design for the nine-storey hospital was also being finalised, including specific room and ward layouts and the building’s facade.
Additionally, a list of technology, furniture, fixtures and equipment was being compiled.
More than 40 project user groups (PUGs), made up of clinicians, operational staff, patients, carers and community members, have been involved in the hospital’s planning and design.
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Final building approval has been received and work on the hospital buildings was expected to begin ahead of 2021.
The hospital is the largest investment in regional health being undertaken across NSW and one of the largest capital health investments in the state’s history.
It’s expected the hospital will include 430 day and overnight beds and 42 emergency department spaces – about double the number of beds at the current Tweed Hospital.
Specialised meeting places will be built for the Tweed's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
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It’s also been revealed the Aboriginal Health Service will be located in a separate building on the site named the Health Hub to provide easier access and a less clinical environment.
The hospital is considered critically important to meet the needs of the Tweed’s booming population, which is predicted to grow by almost 34,000 people by 2036.
Originally published as Major works start on new Tweed Valley Hospital at Cudgen
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